Dramione - A Surprising Turn of Events
by AlwaysShan
Summary: Draco and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl for their final year at Hogwarts. Draco has his mind set on showing the world he is a changed man. Slowly, he finds himself falling for none other than the muggle-born he spent years taunting. Can she learn to see past the past? Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1 - Regrets

**A/N: So this is my first story, hope you enjoy. Tell me what you think. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, they belong to our Queen, J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 1 - Regrets

Draco was sitting in his compartment on the train alone, not that he had expected any different. Most of the students were afraid of him, while others did not want to be associated with the disgrace that was now the name 'Malfoy'. He did not blame them, if he could, he would avoid himself as well. But hiding would do nothing. He was going back to Hogwarts in hopes to make a new name for himself, to show the world he knew that he was wrong, that he was determined to do right. His whole childhood had been one lie after another, and he was done with it.

As the trolley came by, he bought himself a few Chocolate Frogs. As the opened one to see Dumbledore's smiling face, he was filled with bittersweet memories of him. The man whom he had been sent to kill, the man who had been willing to sacrifice himself for him, the man who had tried to save him.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the Hogwarts Express finally stopped. Draco hesitated for a moment, contemplating just staying on the train, not wanting the face the stares that would surely greet him. Summoning up all his willpower, he told himself not to be a coward and exited the compartment.

The castle looked as if the war had never happened, its grand walls not telling the tale of hate and destruction it had several months ago when the battle had ended. If anything, it looked better than before the war. _At least something good came out of it_, he thought bitterly.

He looked towards the carriages that used to be horseless, to see the black skeleton horses, Threstles. He thought of how many more students would be able to see these animals after the war, and was once again hit by a wave of grief.

He entered a carriage with his trunk, and was unsurprised when again, he ended up alone. But maybe alone was not such a bad thing. He did not have to feel the stares, or sometimes glares, of people. He did not have to hear people gossiping about him, and best of all, he did not have to listen to the people who were still convinced that the wrong side had won the war.

When the carriages finally arrived at the front doors of the castle, he magicked his trunk out of the carriage and was very surprised when he heard a strict voice call out his name.

He turned to see Professor McGonagall, standing with none other than Hermione Granger.

" , today would be nice!" Professor McGonagall called to him once more. _Well, this should be interesting_, he thought, and started walking towards them.

As they entered the Headmistress' office, he could not help but wonder what she had called them here for. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, it was a strange combination to say the least. One third of the Golden Trio and a Death Eater.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I brought you here," started Professor McGonagall, pausing a moment to observed the both of them through her spectacles. "After the, unfortunate, events of last year, the conclusion has been made that there needs to be more House Unity. I will not tolerate some Houses thinking they are better than others, it was thinking like that that led to the war in the first place. Therefore, I feel that the two of you would be best suited for this task. If people see you two getting along, they will most likely be willing to follow suit. That is why I am making you two Head Boy and Head Girl." She stopped for a moment, to let this sink in.

Malfoy's eyes widened. HE was being made Head Boy? After everything he had done, she was trusting him with this responsibility. He felt a surge of admiration for Professor McGonagall that he had never felt before. He hoped that he would not disappoint her trust in him.

"Now, when the castle was rebuilt, a few modification were made," she continued. "One of which was the addition of a new dormitory for the Head Boy and Girl. You two will live in this common room as opposed to your House common room. Now, if you will please follow me, I will show you where it is."

With that, she ushered them out of her office, and after ten minutes, with probably as many flights of stairs, they arrived at a row of curtains, with all four House colours.

"The password is 'House Unity'" as soon as Professor McGonagall spoke, the curtains opened to reveal a door.

Stepping through the door, he heard Hermione gasp. The room really was a sight to behold. Each wall was the colour of one of the four Houses, with a white carpet and white furniture. On the opposite side of the room, he noticed three white doors.

"There are two rooms, one for each of you," Professor McGonogall explained. "You will also be sharing a bathroom." She jestured to the door in the middle as she said this. "Now, due the the events of last year, I thought maybe you two would enjoy some peace for the first night. I have arranged for some house elves to bring you your food for dinner. Tomorrow, you will attend breakfast and receive your timetables. Also, in the classes you share, you will be expected to sit together, to display House Unity. I think that is all for now, I will leave you two to get settled."

And with that, she turned and walked out the door, leaving Draco and Hermione to digest what just happened.

**A/N I know there wasn't much in this chapter, but I felt the need to explain Draco's state of mind as well as what will be happening in Hogwarts.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Uncertainties

**A/N Leah: Your wish is my command :)**

**I know my chapters aren't that long, maybe they will get longer, I don't know. But I'll try to keep them frequent. :)**

Chapter 2 - Uncertainties

He stared at Hermione, processing everything Professor McGonagall had just told them. This was either the best of worst news of his life. He was sharing a dormitory, and table at lessons, with the girl he had spent the last seven years tormenting. This was his chance to prove he had changed, that was, if he managed not to royally mess it up.

"So" he said cautiously.

"So" she repeated, eyeing him curiously.

"Er, um... Which, er, bedroom would, er, you like?" He finally managed to finish. To his surprise, Hermione laughed.

"Which bedroom would I like? When have you ever cared about anyone other than yourself Malfoy?" She asked him, still laughing. She started to say something else, but was hit by another wave of laughter and stopped.

"I was trying to be nice Granger," he practically spat at her. "If it's all the same to you, I'll take the bedroom on the right."

He stalked into the bedroom on the right, which was now his bedroom, bringing his trunk with him. As much as he regretted snapping at her, she had hit a nerve. He knew that he had deserved it, and probably worse from her, but she did not know what he had been through in the past few months. How could she? He immediately groaned, _so much for a good first impression_, he thought bitterly.

He decided to try and occupy his mind by unpacking. He put his clothes in the closet, his books on the table with his bag, parchment, quills, and ink. He looked at the bedside table and shelf, for most people, these would be places to put pictures and knick knacks from home. He, however, did not want to be reminded of home. He sighed, and flopped onto his bed.

His room was decorated much the same as the common room. Each wall a different house colour, and white furniture. _They really want to promote House Unity_, he thought, well, after what had happened last year, he could fully understand why.

He heard a faint knock, too far away to be on his door. _Was someone knocking on Hermione's door?_he wondered. _No, we're the only two here right now_, he decided. He cautiously exited his room to find house elves in the common room.

'We are bringing food to you by order of the Headmistress!" one of the elves squeaked, as all the elves started laying down all sorts of food on the table. "We be being back later to collect the dishes!" another elf say, voice not quite as high as the first.

"Right, er, thanks" he told them.

They all bowed and scurried off.

"Granger! Food's here!" He bellowed, hoping she would hear him.

"Be there in a minute!" She called back.

He sat down on the couch and waited for her to arrive. After what was probably very close to a minute, knowing Hermione, she came out of her room. She was no longer in school robes though, she had changed into her pajamas. Her hair was wet, meaning she had also showered. He could not help but noticed how the water in her hair was dripping onto her shirt. Without it's bushiness, her hair looked, well, sexy. As his eyes travelled up to her face, he noticed that her eyes were slightly red, she had been crying. By the looks of it, she had also tried to cover up the fact that she had been crying, though not altogether successfully.

"You waited for me." She looked quite startled by this fact. She was probably used to Ron, who would stuff his face whenever food was in sight, not caring if he offended anyone.

"Well, when you have parents like mine, you learn to wait" he laughed bitterly. His parents were very strict when it came to manners. He recalled all the punishments he had received when he had not behaved up to their standards, which was always, because he never lived up to their standards.

She simply nodded at this, his parents were probably quite a sore subject for her. She sat down, and for a while, they ate in silence. The food, as always, was delicious, and Draco spent the whole time plucking up the courage to speak again. After he finished the last of his main course, he put his fork down.

"Do you think we will really be able to do this whole House Unity thing?" He asked her. He was slightly nervous, though McGonagall was right, if they could become friends, it really would set an example for House Unity. But the question was, could they do it?

"I don't know, Malfoy" she sighed "I mean, I want to set a good example for the rest of the school, but we hate each other. You tormented me throughout all of school. You persecuted me and my friends in the war. You hate muggle-borns and I am one! I mean, I understand what Professor McGonagall was saying by if we could get along, anyone could get along, but it seems like it's a bit 'if' to me." She sighed again.

He stayed silent for a few minutes, letting her words sink in, not really sure on how to respond.

"I'm sorry Granger." He said simply. "I know that sorry cannot take back the things I said to you, or any of my previous actions, but I'm sorry." He put his head in his hands and sighed. When he finally looked up, she was still looking at him, as if not sure how to react.

"Do you hate me Granger?" he asked. She had said they hated each other, assuming he still hated her. He knew she had good reason to assume that, and that only hurt him more.

"I don't know, Malfoy" she sighed again.

"Is that your phrase of the evening?" he smirked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

She smiled.

"I don't know, Malfoy" she laughed

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Tormented

**A/N: Please don't hate me for this chapter, I know it's a little dark, and deals with some controversial stuff, but I feel all of it needed to be said. I really want to emphasize Draco's inner turmoil, as well as the fact that none of the houses are perfect.**

**It gets better soon, I promise, just bear with me.**

Chapter 3 - Tormented

They had politely said their goodnights a few hours ago and gone their separate ways. But Draco could not sleep. He tossed, he turned, he got comfortable, and then he was uncomfortable. He simply was not tired. Her words were echoing through his head, over and over again, as if maybe the next time he analyzed them, they would mean something different.

"_I don't know, Malfoy" she sighed "I mean, I want to set a good example for the rest of the school, but we hate each other. You tormented me throughout all of school. You persecuted me and my friends in the war. You hate muggle-borns and I am one! I mean, I understand what Professor McGonagall was saying by if we could get along, anyone could get along, but it seems like it's a bit 'if' to me." She sighed again._

He rolled onto his back, exasperated. _We hate each other_. Was that really what she thought of him? That he hated her? Maybe in the past, when he was convinced blood status was everything, when his father would punish him whenever she got higher marks than he did, which was always. There was no competing with Hermione Granger, she was, after all, the brightest witch of her age.

He turned to his side, putting another pillow over his head in an attempt to block out the thoughts, unsuccessfully. _You tormented me throughout all of school_. Yes, he had. He had mocked her at every turn, and called her Mudblood at every chance he had gotten. He had been raised to think that muggle-borns were inferior to him, that they were unworthy of their magic. And yet a muggle-born had beat him at everything. He had not been able to comprehend it at the time, so he had tormented her, he had tried to make her life miserable.

He moved onto his stomach, still pressing the other pillow over his head, his attempts were once again in vain. _You persecuted me and my friends in the war_. Yes, he had helped Voldemort. He had stood passively by as his Aunt Bellatrix had tortured her. He had watched her suffer the pain of the Cruciatus curse, a pain he knew all too well. He stood and watched as the word _Mudblood_ was carved into her arm, in his house no less. He had heard her screams, seen her pain, and he had done nothing.

But what could he have done?

He had been surrounded by those who were loyal to Voldemort, who despised muggle-borns like he had. Even if he had done anything, could he have possibly out-duelled his aunt? Would she have escaped? Would he have escaped? Would he even be alive? The punishment he had received for accidentally slipping up was bad enough, but if they had found out he had let them escape on purpose? No, he probably would not be alive. But was dead really better than his state right now? In constant turmoil, hated by almost everyone. For all he knew he was hated by everyone, some were just polite enough not to be upfront about it.

He rolled onto his other side, throwing the pillow against the wall in frustration. _You hate muggle-borns and I am one! _She thought he had not changed, that he still clung to his old beliefs after they were proven wrong so many times. The same beliefs that had caused so much hurt, to others and to himself. Voldemort was cruel, to his followers as well as his enemies. He did not hesitate to mock, humiliate and torture his followers, he had no mercy. And in a way, it was really what Death Eaters deserved. They thought themselves better than others simply because of the circumstances of their birth. It had nothing to do with ability, accomplishments or personality. It was because of ancestry.

He had been foolish to believe them.

They were all fools.

Fools who fooled themselves into thinking they were not fools.

Fools who called people who did not believe their foolish beliefs fools.

They were all fools, and he had been one of them.

But not anymore.

He sat up, running his hands through his hair. _It seems like it's a big 'if' to me_. It was a big if, but not the way she thought it was. She did not think he could get past blood status, but he already had. The 'if' was whether or not she could forgive him. He did not think he could if he was her. Years of tormenting, prejudice, and finally persecution. She had been hunted like a criminal, when she had done nothing wrong. Hermione Granger, one of the nicest, kindest, smartest people he had ever met, had been hunted down like filth, all the muggle-borns had.

He realized that the whole House Unity was as big an 'if' as them getting along was. The very nature of the Houses made House Unity difficult. People looked down upon Slytherin, because he valued those with pure blood, and who would do anything to achieve their means. When one puts those two things together, well people like Voldemort and his followers were bound to happen. But it was not just Slytherin who was picky.

Griffyndor only wanted the brave and the bold. He looked down upon those who ran away, just as Slytherin had looked down upon those who were not pure blood.

Ravenclaw only wanted the wise and smart. She did not want to teach those who were not clever, just as Slytherin had not wanted to teach those who were muggle-born.

And Hufflepuff, he remembered what he had said to Harry, on their first meeting _"imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"_. Hufflepuff wanted those who were loyal and hardworking. She had not cared about bravery, cleverness or ancestry, only effort.

He was reminded of a few lines the sorting hat had sung during his fifth year.

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those whose ancestry's purest."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach just those who intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."_

_Said Hufflepuff "I'll teach the lot and treat them just the same."_

In that case, Hufflepuff had been the only one who accepted everyone. Everyone had their own prejudice, some were just regarded as better than others.

He groaned. House unity was going to be a pain.

* * *

He collapsed back on his back, Hermione's words still running through his brain.

_We hate each other_. No, he did not hate her.

_You tormented me throughout all of school_. Because he had been naive enough to believe that he was better than her.

_You persecuted me and my friends in the war_. He had been forced to, they had threatened him, and his family.

_You hate muggle-borns and I am one! _NO! He did not hate muggle-borns, except for the really annoying ones, but that was because they were annoying, not because they were muggle-born.

_We hate each other... You tormented me throughout all of school... You persecuted me and my friends in the war... You hate muggle-borns and I am one!_

_Hate... Tormented... Persecuted... Hate-_

The torment of her words was cut off by a scream.

He bolted upright in bed, scampered out it bed as quickly as humanly possible, and running through their shared bathroom, tried to open her door, but it was locked.

"Bloody hell Granger, don't you trust me?" he cursed as he ran for her other door, only to hear the screaming had subsided, but the other door was locked as well.

As he went back to his room, she was still screaming. He realized she must have put a silencing charm on her door. She had anticipated her screams. He grabbed his wand and tried every spell he knew to open her door, every one as unsuccessful as the last.

"Damnit Hermione, why do you have to be so smart?" he shouted in frustration. She had started screaming again, she sound like she was in pure agony.

"HERMIONE! HERMIONE WAKE UP!" He bellowed as loud as he could, but her screaming did not stop.

"We found it! We found it! PLEASE!" Hermione started screaming. A dreadful chill was sent through Draco as he recognized her words.

"It's a copy! IT'S A COPY!" Hermione started screaming again. Draco slid down the wall, it was as if he was living that night over again. Still unable to help her as she went through misery.

She was screaming wordless screams again. He sat there, defeated, worthless, helpless. He could almost hear Bellatrix laughing as she had been that night. He rested against the door, head in his hands, and he felt hot tears started to stream from his eyes. He was pathetic, he always had been, and it was people like Hermione who had suffered because of people like him.

As Hermione's screams finally subsided, he felt sleep gently take him over.

**A/N: Again, please don't hate me. It needed to be said. There cannot be progress unless you deal with the issues.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Routine

**A/N: So I struggled a bit with this chapter. I hope the pace isn't too slow, but one of my major irks is when the characters fall for each other too fast. I know they have known each other for seven years, but still, these things take time. I hope you enjoy it, it's not as dark as the last one.**

Chapter 4 - Routine

He woke up to his head slamming on the floor and a yelp.

"Bloody hell Malfoy!" Hermione said, shocked. Regaining her composure somewhat, she quipped, "Do you generally abandon comfortable beds for bathroom doors?"

He was still dazed by his surroundings, until the events of the previous night caught up to him.

"I... er... I..." He tried to think of something but failed miserably. She was still studying him curiously.

"Well, if you are not going to tell me, would you mind getting out of the bathroom?" She was clearly annoyed by his answer, or lack thereof, but he was thankful she did not press the issue.

"Right... er... yea" He replied pathetically, quickly exiting the bathroom.

The rest of the morning passed well enough. They walked to the Great Hall for breakfast together, before separating to go to their own House tables. After breakfast, they received their timetables, he groaned in seeing he had double potions first, Professor Slughorn was still teaching potions, which meant that he would have to endure his congratulating all the students who were on the right side of the war, and wondered what treatment he would get.

He arrived at potions with a few minutes to spare, and was not surprised to see Hermione was already there. Remembering Professor McGonagall's intructions, he sat next to her.

"Hullo partner!" He smiled, hoping she would forget the awkward events of that morning.

"Hi" She smiled tentatively back, clearly confused by his behaviour.

Hermione's behaviour improved throughout the lesson, clearly the difficult potion proved to be a useful distraction for her ever-busy mind. Slughorn, however, was worse than he thought he would be. He spent all lesson ogling over Hermione, and avoiding Draco like he was some kind of a disease. He was obviously trying to distance himself from the darkness surrounding the Slytherin house, as he was their head. Twice, he asked her if she wanted to switch partners, the second time almost broke Draco's resolve, but he managed to hold his anger within.

After lunch, they had Defence Against the Dark Arts. Their new Professor was a small witch by the name of Whitney Orleue. She was from France, and very determined to prove herself, and by the end of the lesson, she had gained their respect.

After DADA, they went to the library to do their homework. They were to write the exact instructions for making Felix Felicis for potions, and for DADA, they had to write twelve inches on the impact of the Unforgivable Curses. Draco sighed, this was going to be a tough year.

When dinner time came, Hermione had finished her homework, but continued to read _Advanced Potions_, just for fun. Draco was still struggling on his DADA essay, he had three more inches to go and he had said all he had wanted to say.

After dinner, they went back to their common room and Hermione disappeared into the bathroom while Draco struggled to find more things to say about Unforgivable Curses. He finally finished went to bed. That night, he again had trouble sleeping, and was again confronted my Hermione's screams. It seemed that she still had not realized that she had two doors, or maybe she had presumed that her silencing charm would cover both doors.

If she had not been screaming in pain, he would have been amused that the brightest witch of her age had finally made a mistake.

And so they fell into a steady routine. They would go to breakfast together, most of the time in silence, attend lessons together, he had all his classes with her, but she was taking more classes than he was, sometimes go to the library together when neither of them had lessons, and finally they would end up at their common room. They talked when necessary, never displaying hostility in front of others, never actually putting too much emotion into their conversations. She had accepted that she was stuck with him, and he had accepted she did not like him.

Every night, he would lie awake, and then finally fall asleep after her screams subsided. She always locked her door, but he made sure to never make the mistake of falling asleep by her door again.

He gained a lot of respect and admiration for her, each night, she went through hell, and each day, she had to put up with him, her tormenter of seven years, but never once did she complain. She was never unpleasant towards him, and she always put on a smile for the world to see. He was amazed at her strength, and began to realize why the Sorting Hat had put her in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw. As smart as she was, her courage was ten times greater. He just wished she did not have to suffer alone.

They continued like this for weeks, both going through the motions, but secretly dying on the inside. She became his role model in a way. Whatever agony he was feeling, he would always tell himself that if she could deal with it, so could he. If she could face each day with a smile, despite all her burdens, then he could too.

Despite the fact that they never talked more than necessary, despite the fact that he was quite sure she hated him, not only for what he had done but also for who she thought he was. Despite the fact that his father would disown him if he ever found out, despite the fact that he denied it, even to himself, the impossible was happening.

Draco Malfoy was slowly falling for Hermione Granger.

**A/N: Well there you go, I hope I did the classes justice, as J.K. never really wrote too much about the seventh year I had to do a bit of research and guess work, if anyone has any suggestions homework and class wise for NEWT level, it would be greatly appreciated. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Confrontations

**A/N: I'm writing was faster than I thought I would, the story has just taken over in a way. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!**

Chapter 5 – Confrontations

The day started out as all their days for the last month and a half had, Draco Malfoy got up, feeling he had not gotten enough sleep. He would wait until he heard Hermione was done in the washroom, and then he would shower, the hot water always relaxed him, sometimes it felt that as though it was washing away all the pain from the previous day.

When he got out of the shower, begrudgingly, he got dressed, packed the books he needed for the day and met Hermione is the common room.

"Good morning" he said to her pleasantly. No matter how bad his mood was, he always made sure he gave her a happy greeting in the morning, because she had had a bad night.

"Good morning" she sighed. The bags under her eyes were worse today, she had probably forgotten to put a cosmetic spell on them this morning. She had had a rather bad night last night, so she was probably feeling just as tired, if not more so, than he was.

"You look tired, have you been sleeping alright?" he asked her. Every so often he would ask her this, normally whenever she looked particularly rough for wear, hoping that maybe, one day, she would tell him the truth. So far, she had remained under her pretence that everything was fine.

"Just worried about homework, N.E.W.T year is exhausting." she gave him a tired smile. This was probably the most honest she had ever been with him. Normally she denied that she was tired completely and other times would snap at him ever so slightly. _She must have had a rough night _he thought. He felt bad for her, and wished for the several hundredth time that he could do something to help her.

"I would offer to help, but I have a feeling all I would do is bring down your grade" he laughed.

"Oh no, you have enough to deal with on your own. You're often doing homework after I'm finished!" she looked shocked by his offer to help.

"True, and you're even taking more courses than me! Sometimes I wonder if it's your goal to make everyone look bad Granger." He teased her, hoping she would not not take it the wrong way.

"Only you, Malfoy" she smirked at him. _At least she has not lost all the fire in her,_ he thought, and took it as a good sign.

All too soon, they arrived at breakfast, and she left him alone at the Slytherin table, while she went to talk to her friends in Gryffindor. He wondered if she had told any of them about her nightmares or if maybe she had confided in Harry or Ron, who were at Auror training, not Hogwarts. He hoped that she was talking to someone, but he had a feeling she was not. She was the type to keep it all to herself, not wanting to burden people with her own problems, while not having the slightest problem helping others.

He finished his breakfast and left for Herbology, his first class of the day.

* * *

After Herbology, he had Defence Against the Dark Arts, and then lunch. He noticed that Hermione was absent for lunch. He did not think too much of it until he went to charms after lunch and she did not show up. He spent the whole time wondering what might have happened to her, while he was supposed to be practicing Banishing Charms. Luckily for him, he was already familiar with this charm, or he would have been completely lost.

After Charms he went back to the dormitory, to find Hermione sobbing on the couch. For a minute he just stood there, shocked at the sight before him, only breaking out of the trance when she noticed him and immediately began trying to explain through her sobs.

"I-I-I'm s-s-so sorry" she managed to say through her tears. "I-I w-went b-b-back t-to get m-my ch-charms things. I-I've j-j-just b-been s-so stressed, y-you kn-know? I-I m-must h-have l-l-lost tr-track of t-t-time."

Just as he was about to inquire at the cause of her breakdown, he noticed some parchment on the table. Going over to her, he picked up the papers.

"May I?" he asked her, arching his eyebrow.

"I-I s-s-sup-pose so. Wh-what harm c-c-can it d-do n-now?" she stuttered shakily.

He began to read. The letter was from Harry.

_Hermione,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you sooner, Auror training has been mental. The new Head Auror, Barry Cotterman, is almost as obsessed as Mad-Eye Moody was, or so some of the older Aurors I've run into keep telling me. He has us doing all kinds of training. I keep expecting him to start yelling about 'Constant Vigilance'._

_I've been training all day and helping out at the Burrow when I get back. still hasn't fully recovered yet from losing Fred. She doesn't want to admit it, but she really does need the support. So I've been busy all day long, and collapsing on the bed and falling asleep as soon as I do._

_It was only when I was trying to make a particularly difficult potion today, and I thought 'Wow, I wish Hermione was here.' That I realized how long it had been since I had written to you. I'm not saying you're forgettable, just that I'm so used to having you with me, sometimes it feels like you're there._

_Ron has been completely miserable. When I told him he ought to write to you, he only glared at me. I don't think he's gotten over your fight yet. I think he's decided that when you said you were done and stormed out, you meant that you were done with your relationship, him, everything. He's been... Seeing Lavender Brown again. Honestly I don't know why, all he did was complain about her last time they were together._

_I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. I hope you are happy, don't take it too hard._

_Let me know if there is anything I can do, after all you've done for me, it's the least I can do. I know you won't want to burden me, I've known you for seven years, I know how you think, but please, just this once, let me help. If not me, someone else, anyone. I can't wait until Christmas holidays and I can see you again, I've missed you 'Mione._

_All my best,_

_Love,_

_Harry_

He looked at Hermione. All this time, she had not only been struggling with her nightmares, and with him, but also with the fear that her relationship was over. Now, her fear had been confirmed, and finally, she was letting everything out.

By the time he had finished the letter however, Hermione had mostly regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I let you read that." She began. "It was a moment of weakness, it won't happen again, I'm sorry." She went to take the letter from him, but he held it from her.

"You cant hold everything in Hermione" he said softly.

"Like you care Malfoy!" She snarled.

"Maybe I do!" He retorted.

"Well why the hell would you?"

"Ever considered that maybe I'd changed?"

"You? Change? Ha!" She laughed nastily.

"Just because some people are incapable of change Granger, doesn't mean I am." He spat at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She screamed.

"Not everyone is an moronic as your _boyfriend." _The last word rolled off his tongue with such malice, Hermione's eye widened.

"He. Is. Not. My. Boyfriend." She growled at him.

"No? Then why are you so upset to hear he's back with Lav-Lav?" He growled back, equally as ferocious.

"Because-because-because" she stuttered, fresh tears now rolling down her cheeks. "Because I thought he loved me! And to be replaced by that _girl_ makes me feel like I was never good enough. As if he thought I would be better, but when I turned out to be a disappointment, he went back to _her_. Maybe I'm not as pretty as the other girls, maybe I'm harder to please, maybe my standards are too high, I don't know. No one's ever loved me, and finally he did, and then to be replaced again. I feel inadequate! Ugly! Stupid!" By the end she was screaming at him, screaming all the things she had been screaming only to herself up to now.

Her eyes widened again, she realized what she had said.

She ran, ran from him, ran from what she had said. Ran into her room and sealed herself in there. Putting all her usual charms on it to make sure he could not enter.

She left him, shocked, still holding Harry's letter, in the common room.

She had finally broken, he realized, and he was not sure if he had been the one to break her.

He could not have just patted her soothingly on the back and tell her everything was alright, no, he had to open his big mouth, and he had pushed her away.

He had pushed her over the edge that she had spent so long trying to get away from. No wonder she hated him, he hated himself.

He wanted to disappear, to turn back time, but he could not. The only place he could go was forward.

He stayed in the common room to finish his homework, hoping Hermione would come out for dinner.

Finally, she did, and when she did, she completely ignored him.

It was as if, to her, he was not even there.

And for once, he wished she was right.

**A/N: He should be thankful she didn't attack him with her famous birds!**

**It gets better soon, I promise. In my head, their relationship is very hot and cold. And they have a lot of stuff they have to deal with before she can forgive him. And then, maybe, he can forgive himself.**

**Also, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, anything, I'd love to hear it.  
**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Confessions

**A/N: Good morning all! Well, it's currently morning where I am, I give you my permission to replace morning with whatever time of day it is when you read this.**

**Without any further ado, I bring you the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6 – Confessions

Hermione continued to ignore him for the next week. She would speak at him in class when they were working together, but besides for that, he did not exist. It would have been better if she had yelled at him, this was pure torture. Her eyes would flicker across the room as if he was not even there.

Her nightmares got worse. He could tell because they went on for longer, sometimes hours would pass before she finally calmed down. It showed in the mornings too, even the cosmetic charms she was using were not enough. She looked terrible.

He still greeted her every morning, but he never got a reply, or even recognition that she had heard him. For the millionth time, he wished he could help her. But he had done the exact opposite of that. He was now part of the problem.

Even though they had not talked much when they were talking, he missed her. He missed her smile, and their banter. He missed her acknowledging his presence. In ignoring him, she had done more than she could have possibly imagined, slowly, she was making Draco Malfoy hate himself.

Before, he had felt ashamed in himself, loathed his past actions, but at least had the hope of being a different person now. Recent events had made him question even that. As he saw her getting worse and worse, he hated himself more and more. Hated himself for daring to live, daring to breathe the same air as this wonderful girl. A girl who had never treated him wrongly without an incredible amount of pushing from his part. He remembered how much it had taken for her to snap in their third year. It had not been him tormenting her that had made her snap then, it had been because he was inflicting pain on others. Hermione was one of those people who could take so much herself, but could not stand to see others in pain.

And yet, he had managed to break her. Break her into snapping at him because of something he had done to her, not to someone else. He sighed, looking down at his breakfast. He wondered how long he would last without eating. It probably was not the best way to try to end his miserable life. He was sure someone would figure it out before he succeeded. He sighed again, and pushed his food away, no longer hungry. He looked at the Gryffindor table to see Hermione doing much the same thing. She of all people needed to eat. No wonder she looked so awful, she was sleeping horribly and barely touching her food.

All throughout transfiguration, they sat in silence, listening to Professor Wablaf, McGonagall's replacement, squeak excitedly about human transfiguration, a subject they were to read up about and were to be attempting next class. Usually, he would be excited, but today, he really did not give a shit.

Back in potions, they were working of Draught of the Living Death, which they were mostly succesful at. Professor Slughorn seemed very concerned for Hermione's wellbeing, and was not subtle in his accusing glares at Draco.

After lunch, Draco went to the library to read up on human transfiguration, and Hermione disappeared. After several hours of studying and making notes, Draco decided to stop for the night. There was still an hour before dinner, and he felt maybe a hot shower would make him feel better.

"House Unity" he mumbled and stepped into the common room to hear Hermione's shrieks. He realized that she must have gone to try and get rest. Suddenly, he realized that he could hear her from the common room. She had forgotten to put the silencing charm on her door. What other charms had she forgotten to put? He dropped in bag and ran, full sprint, towards her door. For once, when he turned the knob, it opened.

As he entered, he saw Hermione. She was still on her school robes, she had obviously been so tired she had not bothered to get changed, and in her exhaustion, had forgotten to put her usual charms on the door.

She was writhing in pain. Screaming for mercy. Her body twisted and turned, trying anything to get any from the horrible sensation, the sensation that he knew only too well. And he knew that no amount of squirming could possibly get her away from that pain, no matter how much she tried.

He ran to her, and held her in his arms, stroking her hair.

"It's a copy!" She half screamed, half sobbed.

"Hermione, wake up, wake up!" He begged her.

"We found it... Please... We found it..." She sobbed into him.

"It's okay. Wake up, it was a dream. You're ok Hermione, you're ok." He soothed her, to the best of his ability.

She was still sobbing, and he could not tell if she was awake of asleep. He just held her, reassuring her that she was safe. Her sobbing slowly subsided, and he realized she had fallen asleep again. He hoped that she would have better dreams this time. He stared at her, she looked so peaceful now, resting in his arms. And through the tangled mess that was her hair and the eye blotchiness that was her eyes, he thought that she had never looked more beautiful. Here, cradled in his arms, finally peaceful, she was a goddess.

He found his eyes drooping, and the next thing he knew, he was asleep.

He was warm, and comfortable, and he suddenly, he was not. He felt the warmth disappear, and something, no, someone was hitting him, yelling at him.

"Wake. Up. You. Stupid. Prat. Wake. UP!" She yelled.

Begrudgingly, he opened his eyes, to find a furious Hermione hitting him. Was she not ignoring him anymore? Why was she in his room anyway? Wait a minute, this was not his room, this was, oh. The events of the previous night came flooding back to him. That would explain why she was so mad. But did it? She was mad at him because he had held her and stopped her nightmare from continuing? Merlin, she was strange.

He got up out of the bed in hopes that her attacks would stop. They did not.

"Who told you you could go into me room?" She yelled. "You think you can just come waltzing in here? Sleep in my bed? Well you have another thing coming Malfoy!" With each sentence, she landed another blow. He had had just about enough.

He grabbed her wrists.

"That'll be enough of that" he growled.

Her eyes widened, her face was so close to his, he could see the individual eyelashes.

"Get. Off. Me!" She yelled in frustration, struggling to break free, but he was too strong for her.

"Not unless you agree to have a civilized conversation. I'm done with this hot and cold business." He said coldly, yet still full of fire.

"Right, a civilized conversation with a Malfoy, when's that ever going to happen?" She snarled at him.

"The same Malfoy who held you when you were screaming you mean?" He snarled back at her.

That caught her off guard, before she had a chance to reply, he let it all go.

"The same Malfoy that has been listening to your screams for the past month and a half? Yes, that's right, I heard them. Clever little Granger didn't put a silencing charm on the bathroom. Ever since the first night, I've been listening to your screams." He let go of her wrists, he had her complete attention now. "Why do you think I made such an effort to be nice to you every morning? I know what you've been going through, and you haven't even told anyone. No, because no one else can know about your problems but you. You just _have_ to be perfect little Granger. But you aren't. You're broken, just like me. You're caught in a nightmare with no one to turn, because you don't think anyone will understand you, isn't that right Granger." It was not a question, he knew it was true.

"I-" she started to speak, but he cut her off. Everything was coming out now.

"You think you're the only one with nightmares? Well think again, you aren't the only reason I can't sleep. Memories of the war haunt me just as much as they haunt you, except mine keep me awake, so no one ever hears me scream, not that anyone would care." He glared at her, daring her to contradict him. "You think Voldemort was only cruel to his enemies? I probably got tortured more than you did, he liked torture, and he didn't care who he tortured. I was a disappointment, to Voldemort and my father, I don't know who liked torturing me more to be honest." Her eyes widened even more and he said this.

"Draco I-" she began, but he cut her off again.

"And when Harry finally defeated Voldemort, I thought it would be over, but it wasn't. My father was so disappointed in me. He blamed the fall of the Dark Lord on me. He is still obsessed with blood status, convinced that muggle-borns are filth, he can't see the error in his ways, like I saw." The words were just tumbling out of his mouth now, he had now control over them. "And then, after all that torture from my father, never so my mother could see of course, I finally escaped back to school, hoping to make a fresh start, and what do you say to me? You told me how I felt, you assumed you knew my views! Do you remember what you said? Do you?" He stared at her accusingly.

"Th-that we h-h-hated each other" She stuttered, and this time he let her speak. "Th-that you hated muggle-borns." Her voice lowered so he just just barely hear her whisper "That we would not be able to get along." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, as she realized, maybe for the first time, that Draco Malfoy was truly human. That he had feelings. That his torture had not ended with the war.

As she sobbed, he wanted to walk away, to leave her in her misery, like she had done with him, but he could not. They were to broken souls, who, whether they liked it or not, understood each others pain.

So instead of walking away, he walked forward, and held her.

He held her as she sobbed, for what anymore, he did not know, but he held her, willing her to realize that he cared, and that she was not alone.

"You aren't alone anymore Hermione" he murmured into her hair.

He said it for her benefit as much as for his. He felt for the first time, in a long time, that he truly was no longer alone.

**A/N: So, Draco finally broke down and told her, not everything, but a lot.**

**Do you think he's realized his feelings for her yet?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - Understanding

Chapter 7 – Understanding

When she finally stopped crying, she did not let go of Draco, much to his surprise. They just stood there, after emotions had run wild, they both needed a steady rock to rely on. He had no idea how she felt about him, but at the moment, he was content.

"I'm sorry" she said, when she finally broke away. She looked like she wanted to say more, but could not find the right words. Yet, with those two words, she had managed to speak volumes. Some said that the word 'sorry' was so overused that it was meaningless, but it was the way she said those two simple words, and the way she looked at him when she said it, that carried the real message.

"It's ok Granger, we all make mistakes, even you" he teased, trying he lift her spirits. His face fell serious again. "Just promise me you won't lock me out."

She laughed before being serious again.

"I won't" she said simply. And when they looked at each other, a silent agreement was made. They would be there for one another, because they understood each other's pain and suffering. They both understood, that when the war had ended, but for them, it was not over, not when it came back to haunt them every night.

And so their routine was once more, but with subtle changes. From an outsiders view, it might appear that nothing had changed, the difference were so subtle. If one had observed closely, they might have noticed that Hermione's smile was now reaching her eyes more, and how she looked less tired. They might have noticed how Draco looked at her, now not only with admiration, but with affection. If someone had bothered to pay them attention, they may have noticed how how both Hermione and Draco looked much happier now, there was a little more joy in their step, a little more light in their smile. However, no one paid them this much attention.

Draco had noticed how much better Hermione looked, and whenever he did, a wave of relief would wash over him. He had noticed these subtle changes in her behaviour, and hoped that maybe he had something to do with them. Because then, for once, he could be proud of something. He would have helped build her up, rather than trying to tear her down.

Hermione though, was oblivious to the small changes in Draco. She went about her business as usual. She never caught him looking at her, with that new emotion in his eyes. She did not notice how he was making little excuses to touch her, in the mornings when they went out the door he would gentle place his hand on her back. In class, if he saw her looking sad, he would gently place a comforting hand on her arm. When they were arguing playfully he would lightly tap her shoulder. And at night, he would normally give her a comforting hug before she went to bed.

Not even Draco himself noticed these little changes in his behaviour towards Hermione. He told himself that he just cared for her as a friend. In his moments of self reflection, he may or may not have realized just what was happening, because even then he denied it. In his moments of self honesty, all he could really think was, _could a girl like that even fall for a guy like me?_

So while Draco was not alone in his previous problems, he found himself even more alone in this one. It was happening, slowly, but surely, and he could not do a damn thing about it.

Therefore, he went to their old routine, but with subtle changes.

When he woke up in the mornings, Draco would feel slightly more rested. He would still wait for her to be done is the washroom before showering, and greet her cheerfully. They still walked to breakfast together, and separated to their own tables.

They sat together in lessons, and studied together in the library when they both had no classes.

The real change was in what happened when no one was looking. In their common room, they would have friendly chats, nothing really meaningful, but nice all the same.

The biggest change was that, as she promised, Hermione would not lock her door at night. When Draco heard her screams, he would immediately rush and comfort her. As soon as she was calm however, he would leave. He felt better knowing that her pain did not last as long, but he never slept as well as he did that night when he had fallen asleep with her in his arms.

He did not know if she knew that he soothed her every night, but he felt better knowing he could finally do something about it.

They had reached even grounds, finally.

Which was of course, queue for all hell to break loose.

**A/N: I know this chapter was short, but the next one will make up for it. I will leave you wondering what hell will break loose.**

**I'm curious though, what do you guys (and gals), prefer reading? Do you like all the internal thoughts Draco has? Do you prefer reading conversations between them? Do you like the focus being solely on Hermione and Draco, or would you like some more people involved, more Hogwarts related events?**

**I unfortunately was not given the ability to read minds, so you'll have to type it into that box below and press review. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	8. Chapter 8 - Decisions

Chapter 8 – Decisions

Halloween came and went, the Great Hall was decorated as spectacularly as all his previous years at Hogwarts. N.E.W.T level classes were still difficult, but sometimes Hermione would give him a hand. She would never tell him the answers directly, but sometimes she would tell him where to look, or she would read over his answers, making suggestions. He was grateful for her help, the cleverness that he had always mocked and hated her for, he now loved.

Coming back from dinner one night, he noticed there was a new piece of parchment on the notice board. It read:

**FIRST HOGSMEADE VISIT:**

**SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH**

He had completely forgotten about Hogsmeade in the chaos of his final year. The only all magic settlement in Britain, with its numerous shops, had always been enjoyable for him.

Hermione had noticed the it too.

"So" he started, reminded of their first conversation that year.

"So" she repeated back to him.

"Hogsmeade" he stated. She looked amused.

"Hogsmeade" she said, repeating his statement again, teasing him.

"You, er, wanngowime?" He rushed the last part of the sentence, for some reason his stomach felt like it had been infested with pixies.

"I'm sorry? You'll have to say that again." She looked slightly confused at what he had just tried to say. He sighed.

"Would you like to go with me?" he asked again, this time slowly and deliberately, trying to hide the fact that his whole body was shaking as if he had been hit with a buzzing charm.

"Of course!" she beamed. He let of a sigh of relief, he had not realized he had been holding his breath.

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. Before he knew it, it was Saturday, and he would be going with Hermione down to Hogsmeade. He did not know why he felt a buzz going through his entire body, it was only Hermione, and it was not a date. She had probably only agreed to go with him to show House Unity, there was no need to get himself all excited. He could not help it though, for all his words, he still felt like a four year old told he was going to the candy shop.

He greeted her in the common room, and they set off for the doors leading out of the castle. It was a cool, crisp morning, the sun was out, but there were no clouds in the pale blue sky. The village looked beautiful, but no where near as beautiful as the charming young witch did who was standing beside him.

"So M'lady, where would you like to gander first? The choice is yours." He teased with the poshest voice he could muster. She giggled at his mock chivalry.

"Well my good sir, I would rather enjoy some sweets from Honeydukes." She teased back, trying for the snobbiest, shrillest voice she could. Having not been raised in a pureblood family, her attempt was not nearly as successful and his, which only made him laugh more.

"My good sir!" She exclaimed in mock horror, in the same shrill, snobby voice. "Is it your intention to stand there mocking me whilst I freeze! Where is your honour? I was told you were from the most prestigious of the families, yet you behave with such distaste! For shame!" By the end of her little speech, they were both curled over in laughter, Draco was pleasantly surprised that she had brought his family into this, even if there were just joking around.

"My sweet madam, I find myself most shocked at your accusations. I could not possibly mock you, how could I? What could I possibly find to mock on such a perfect example of grace and prestige such as yourself?" Though he was still using his posh voice, he found that his words were no longer jokes. He looked at her, and for a moment, they were both speechless, and then he whispered, so silently he was not sure she would hear him, "For all the girls of pure and noble blood, all those who are doted on by all, none could compare to a beauty such as yours."

Her eyes widened, she had clearly heard him. They just stood there, looking at each other, equally as shocked. Draco Malfoy, whether she realized it or not, had just told her he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She did not need to spend hours in the morning, doing her hair and make up, she had a natural glow about her. It was not only her face, but her very essence that made her so beautiful. The genuineness in her smile, not the lip gloss on her lips. It was the sparkle in her eye, not the eye make up she wore. And that, was something no other girl could ever wish to have. She thought she could never compare to any other girl, but she had in completely backwards. No other girl could possibly ever hope to compete with her.

"Draco-" she started to say something, but she never got to, as right at that moment, someone shouted.

"Oi! Hermione!" someone bellowed. As they both turned to see who it was, he heard her gasp. He had a mop of ginger hair and a very mad expression on his face.

Ron Weasley had come to see her.

* * *

As he came nearer, he continued to glare at Draco.

"What do you want Ron?" Hermione snapped at him

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Ron growled at him, ignoring Hermione completely.

"I happened to have asked Hermione here to come with me to Hogsmeade." He drawled.

"And what gives you the right do to that Ferret?" Ron snarled

"We've become friends." He said shortly, his temper rising. "Something you would have known if you had bothered writing to her."

"Don't you dare lecture me Ferret!" Ron's voice was steadily becoming louder. "What could you possibly know about friends, _Death Eater._" The last two words he said with such ferocity, Draco snapped.

"I happen to know a lot, Weasel." his voice quiet, but filled with intense fury. "While you've been off snogging other girls, I've been there. Held her through her tears, the tears _you caused_ I should add."

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOUCH HER!" Ron bellowed at him, drawing his wand and pointing it at him. Draco was just as quick.

They stood there, wands pointed at each other, equal looks of loathing on their faces.

"Aren't you going to try and hex me, you pathetic Death Eater?" Ron growled at him.

"You're the one who pulled your wand first, Weasel. I just have mine out in self-defence." He snarled back at him.

"And if anyone saw us right now, do you really think that's what they would think?"

Hermione cleared her throat.

"_They _might not think that, Ronald, but I saw the whole thing." She growled at him.

"You're taking his side? Mione how could you? After all he's done?" Ron was shocked.

"Ronald Weasley don't you dare call me Mione! And what about what you've done?" She screamed at him.

"You would choose a Death Eater over your best mate?" His voice was only a whisper now.

"No." She said, and he looked relieved, while Draco while crushed. "But I would choose the boy who's been there for me over the past few months over the boy who broke my heart and abandoned me."

It was Ron's turn to looked crushed. He lowered his wand as her words sank in.

"Mione I'm so sorry." He whispered, barely audible. Her expression softened. "Could you find it in your heart to forgive the boy who made the biggest mistake of his life?" He was chocking up.

"Oh Ron." She went and hugged him.

"I'll leave you two to it then." Draco muttered so they could hear him, ad stalked back towards the castle. He did not feel like going to Hogsmeade anymore. He wanted to disappear, or at least to forget about the events that just happened. He should have known better. Hermione loved Ron, everyone knew they were going to end up together eventually, get married, have children. He was just a footnote.

* * *

Hermione returned to the common room that night with a smile on her face. As soon as she saw the expression on Draco's face, her face fell.

"Draco I-"

"Don't start" he snapped.

"Don't start what?"

"Don't start apologizing!"

"And what gave you the impression I would be apologizing?" She asked coolly.

"Nothing." He spat.

"Then why did you tell me not to?" She spat back.

"Because I wanted to make sure you didn't feel sorry for me. The last thing I need is your pity." He snarled at her.

"Well I don't feel sorry for you!"

"Good!" They just stared at each other for a while.

"So how was your _date?_ Have you forgiven him already?" He asked, voice still dripping with malice.

"What does it matter to _you_? I didn't think you cared." She replied nastily.

"You don't think I _care _anymore? One day with Ron and suddenly I'm the bad guy again? He started the whole think Hermione! _He's _the one who pulled his wand out at _me_. Or has he managed to brain-wash you in the matter of a few hours?" He snapped at her.

"Well why the hell would you care about my date with him anyway?" Her voice had lost some of it's vigour at his words.

"Oh, so it _was_ a date. So you've just forgiven him. Have you forgotten how upset you were at him? Forgotten all the tears he's caused you? He just disappears for three months, snogging and probably shagging others girls, but _I'm_ the bad guy? I'm the one who held you when you were crying! Not him!" He was furious, whether at Ron or Hermione, he was not sure.

"So you think that I should judge people on their past actions, even if they say they have changed?" Her eyes had softened a bit, but her tone was soft and dangerous.

"That's not fair." He said, feeling broken.

"_Not fair?_ You know what's _not fair_ Draco? Being tormented because of your parents! Being persecuted because of who they are, not because of anything you've done. Being on the run because school isn't safe for you anymore! That's _not fair_." She snarled at him.

He laughed at her. It lacked humour, lacked all happy emotion. He laughed a sinister laugh.

"You don't think I know about being labeled because of who my parents are? I wasn't raised with love, I was raised to uphold my families honour. I was raised to be a Death Eater. I was raised with hate, forced to take a mark I did not want, forced to do awful things. I was born into persecution just as much as you were, it was just a different kind." He said sorrowfully.

"Oh boo hoo Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, surprising him. "I've heard enough of your pity stories. You say you had no choice, it was how you were raised. That doesn't change the hurt you caused me! You never questioned your beliefs, you accepted them, you _loved_ thinking you were better than everyone else. Sure, Ron made a mistake, but three months worth of torture is a lot better than seven years of it!"

"_I never questioned my beliefs?_" His voice was shaking with anger now. "If I had never questioned my beliefs, do you think my beliefs would be different now? I questioned my beliefs every day during the war! I even changed my beliefs! Have you forgotten everything that's happened in the last few months Hermione? _I _held you, _I_ comforted you, while _he_ didn't write, and didn't care!" He stepped dangerously closed to her. Their bodies almost touching as he towered over her.

"Why do _you_ care so much Malfoy? Why do you care what happens between me and Ron? For the past years, you would have cherished the thought of my heart being broken, and suddenly you're worried about another guy hurting me? That's rich Malfoy, especially since no guy could ever hurt me as much as you did." Her voice was filled with venom, her mouth in a scowl. Her eyes were filled with fire like he had never seen before.

"I hate you." She spat at him. "I always have, and I always will."

At those words, something stirred inside him that he had never felt before. It was like a beast growling within him. He was no longer Draco Malfoy, his actions were no longer his own. He felt as his body, as if on its own, move. He watched his hands grab Hermione. One snatched her waist and the other tangled itself in her hair. He felt himself close the gap that was between them, looked at her shocked face.

He lowered his lips onto hers. He was not sure if what he did was really a kiss though, it was more of an attack, a hunger. He bit her bottom lip and she gasped. He seized his opportunity to deepen the kiss, his only thoughts of needing her. And then, she started kissing him back, with just as much hunger. As if through the kiss, and only through the kiss, could they tell each other how they really felt. He needed her, she was his air supply. If he stopped kissing her, he would die.

He felt her hands on his chest, and they slowly snaked their way up to his hair. She bit his bottom lip and a moan escaped his throat. He tried furiously to bring her closer, their bodies pressed together. He deepened the kiss even more, their tongues dancing upon each other. She let out a small moan of her own. Upon hearing her moan, he was helpless. Whatever control he had of his body before had completely vanished.

His hands snaked down her body, resting right on her arse. He lifted her up slightly and her legs wrapped around his hips, as if on command. He pressed her against a wall, his lips leaving hers to go to her throat, and she whimpered slightly. As he made his way dow her throat, he stopped right above her collarbone, gently biting the area. She moaned again, louder this time. He continued to bite, suck and kiss the area, her moans steadily growing louder.

He then returned his attention to her lips, they were now partly chapped, and still open from her last moan. They looked so inviting. He pressed his lips to hers once more, hungrily taking her in. He felt her hands begin to wander from his hair to his chest once more. Her delicate fingers tracing his muscles. Her hands traced his chest, and slowly made their way down to his hard abs, finally ending up right at the waistband of his trousers. He groaned as she slowly slipped one finger into his pants, stroking the skin between his hips, teasing him.

He slowly brought one of his hands up, supporting her weight with the other one. He sneaked his free hand under her shirt, caressing the soft skin of her belly. She whimpered at his touch. He slowly moved his hands up-

THWACK!

There was a sharp thud on a the window, bringing them both to their senses again. Hermione's eyes widened in horror as the haze from the lust vanished. She pushed him away and scrambled off him as quickly as she could, tripping over herself in the process. She feel the a soft _thud_ onto the floor. When he reached down to help her up, she scrambled away from him, still on the floor, looking terrified. He did not think he quite deserved that treatment, after all, she had kissed him back.

And she set herself right once more, she searched for the cause of noise, and found it quite quickly. An excited little fluff ball was zooming around outside the window, looking quite dazed. She let it in and sighed.

"Oh Pig." She chuckled, clearly forgetting that Draco was still in the room, eyeing her cautiously. She untied the letter from the fluff ball's leg, he presumed, and scanned the letter. The ferocity returned to her eyes as she looked up form the letter, glaring at him.

He gulped.

She stalked into her room, and disappeared.

Draco sighed, wondering what had taken over him, and wishing they had not been interrupted.

**A/N: A chapter or two from Hermione's POV was actually in the plan, I'm just currently trying to decide when to put it and how much to write.**

**There, they finally kissed, we can all let out that inner breath we've been holding (or maybe it just me.)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	9. Chapter 9 - Unity

**A/N: So I'm having a bit of trouble with building the bridge from where I am with the story to where I want to go to the story. I want to put some chapters from Hermione's POV, but I'm unsure how many. I was thinking that maybe when both Draco and Hermione left Hogwarts for Christmas would be a good time. I'm debating between flashbacks, or at the turning point to the story, maybe going back and redoing the whole thing from Hermione's POV (but not in as much detail, just some of the more major events.)**

**Without further ado, I present the next chapter!**

Chapter 9 – Unity

Draco was woken up by a sharp tap on the door. He got out of bed, checked he was dressed well enough, and went out of his room. He was not sure what he expected to find, maybe Hermione. He did not expect, however, to see Professor McGonagall in their common room.

"Good morning, Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy." She greeted them briefly. "I am sure you are wondering why I am here?" She looked at them questioningly.

"Good morning Professor!" Hermione gushed. "Yes, I am quite curious."

"Well, I shall get straight to the point then. People seeing the two of you getting along has not quite had the desired effect on House Unity that I wanted it to have. It is for this reason, that I am going to task to the job of coming up with ideas to improve House Unity to you two." She finished. They both nodded.

"Very well then, I will leave you to it. You have a week. Next Sunday, we will meet again to discuss your ideas. Good day." With that, she left.

"Any ideas Granger?" He asked her, arching her eyebrow. She looked deep in thought. He hoped she was contemplating how to unite the Houses, not the best way to cause him severe pain.

"Maybe" she began tentatively. "Maybe a study group? Welcome to all houses, to help people with homework?" She finished.

"Well, if you're leading it I'm sure people will come." He laughed. "If only see the famous Hermione Granger in action." She shot him a look.

"Maybe you can figure out something with Quidditch?" She asked.

"I'm sure I could think of something." He said, more to himself than her.

"How much homework do you have today?" She asked, surprising him.

"Um, er, not much I think. Finished most of it yesterday." He said thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Oh, well because I've finished all of mine, and I just thought if you had too we could devote the entire day to figuring out this House Unity thing." She rushed through. He did not think she really wanted to see that much of him, but she also did not want to disappoint Professor McGonagall.

"Ok, well, for Quidditch," he began. "There are a lot of people at school who play it, but aren't quite good enough for the House team. So if they got a chance to play, they might be willing to look over the fact that they might be playing on the same team with people they hate." He was not really saying this to her, but he often found that thinking out loud had always helped him.

"We could have a monthly Quidditch tournament." He continued, notice she had started writing on a piece of parchment. "The turn out would probably be different every month, so we would have to have a way of picking new teams every month."

"Well you could always assign different Captains every month and have them each choose their teams at the beginning." Hermione said thoughtfully. "Maybe make them all choose one Gryffindor, one Ravenclaw, one Slytherin, and one Hufflepuff? Permitting there's enough that is." She finished quickly.

"Brilliant!" He exclaimed. "Then the three other members of the team can be whatever House. The teams have be be seven people, so the extras can be replacements if someone gets hurt."

"Do people often get hurt in Quidditch?" Hermione interrupted his train of thought.

"Erm, sometimes, yea. Depends on how good the player is, and how good they _think_ they are." He said knowingly. He had seen many players overestimate their ability and try to do a move to advanced for them, and gotten themselves quite beat up.

"Oh."

"The games should probably have a time limit." He said, thinking of the awful players that might show up. "There will be some bloody awful seekers, and I don't really fancy waiting for them to catch the snitch." Hermione nodded at this, again writing on her parchment.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"Er, how often they should be. The games can't interfere with the regular Quidditch season."

"Oh, no, that would just be _awful_." She teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "Just because_ you_ don't think Quidditch is important, Granger, doesn't mean the rest of the school shares your opinion."

She muttered something back about boys and Quidditch.

"I'm sorry, didn't quite catch that." He teased.

"I said, all you boys are the same! Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch!" She exclaimed, much louder this time. He laughed at her exasperation.

"I think you will find it's not just wizards who love Quidditch, most witches do too." He told her. "Well, some love Quidditch, other's love Quidditch players..." He winked at her.

"Malfoy, I don't really need to know about all the girls you've shagged because you own a broom." She said, rolling her eyes.

"For one, it's about a little more than owning a broom Granger." He explained, as if she were a small child. "And secondly, I'm quite sure it's only you who doesn't like Quidditch." He teased.

"Well _excuse me_ for not liking such a barbaric sport!"

"It's not barbaric, it's brilliant!"

"That's a matter of opinion Malfoy."

"Well I think if everyone shares an opinion, it becomes fact."

"Well if I disagree, not obviously not _everyone_ shares that opinion!"

"Ok, fine. Everyone but you. Close enough."

"Malfoy!"

"Granger!"

"Humph!" She raised her nose in the air at him.

"No, no, no, Granger. You're doing that all wrong." He laughed.

"Doing what wrong? I'm barely doing anything!" She looked shocked.

"You're trying to look conceited! That's very much something. Here, let me show you how you're supposed to do that." And with those words, he tilted his head up and high as it could go and scowled as deeply as possible. Hermione started to giggle. When, for extra effect, he arched his back and began walking around with the strangest gait he had ever done, she lost it. He looked over to see she had completely fallen out of her chair and was laughing like mad on the floor.

He looked at her amused, and watched as she would slowly try and compose herself before being hit by a fresh wave of laughter. After several minutes, she finally calmed herself down.

"It's surprising how well you do that." She quipped.

"Not really, it's how all the women in my family walk." He said thoughtfully. It was not quite true, he had emphasized it a bit, but it really was the main idea. It seems in picturing the rest of his family walking like that, Hermione was hit by a fresh wave of giggles, though this time she managed to remain seated.

"Why on earth would they walk like that?" Hermione exclaimed.

"I guess that's just what happens when you spend your whole like being told you're better than everyone else." He sighed, no longer joking. "Maybe it's their punishment." He added, trying to lighten the mood again. Though Hermione was still smiling, she was no longer laughing. It seemed that the mention of his family's beliefs had made her more tense.

"You know Granger, when I look back, I'm amazed at how idiotic I must have been to believe them." He sighed sorrowfully. "I'd give anything to be able togo back and change everything."

They sat in silence for a long time.

"You can't go back Draco." Hermione finally said, softly.

"I know" he smiled sadly.

"But you can go forward." She whispered, barely addible. And those five words filled him hope.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. They did not think of anything else for House Unity, though not for lack of trying. The conversation was pleasant, but without saying anything, Hermione had made it very clear. _They were not talking about the kiss_. She was not hostile towards him, she seemed to have decided that ignoring him was really not her best option, but she did not mention it, and he gathered that he probably should not either.

**A/N: Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, constructive ****criticism, is greatly welcome.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	10. Chapter 10 - Amends

**A/N: So, this is actually one of my ****favourite chapters so far. It's a defining chapter for Draco. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Here is is, the first chapter is the double digits.**

Chapter 10 - Amends

Whether Hermione realized it or not, Draco had taken her words to heart. He had no power over his past actions, but he had complete control over his future ones. He could not erase the mistakes he had made, but maybe, just maybe, he could right them.

It was for this reason he found himself lingering after his Care of Magical Creatures lesson. He had stayed under the pretence of helping Hagrid return the Streeler back to it's cage and help repair the damage to the vegetation it had caused. Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at his behaviour, but said nothing as she headed back towards the castle. After helping Hagrid return the now bright orange giant poisonous snail to it's cage, he began charming the life back into the grass.

"Thanks for tha-" Hagrid had turned around to thank his helper, but had stopped dead when he stood facing none other than Draco Malfoy. Draco did not blame Hagrid for his shock, if the roles had been reversed, he would have been completely flabbergasted to see himself there as well.

"Professor Hagrid, I wanted to apologize for my horrendous behaviour towards you over the past years." He spluttered out. Before he lost his nerve, he continued. "You never showed any hostility towards me, and I tried to get you sacked, just because I didn't like you. I tormented you, I tried to make you as miserable as possible, and I hate myself knowing that some days, I probably succeeded in that goal. You are honestly one of the kindest souls I have ever met, you even see good in beasts that make most people simply cower in fear. I know I cannot take back my words or my actions, but I would like you to know nothing I ever said was true. I don't know if I could ever make up for what I have done, but I would be honoured if you let me try." He finally finished, he had been talking very fast, he had needed to say everything as quickly as possible in case Hagrid had interrupted him, but also so he could say everything he needed to say.

As he looked up at Hagrid, he did not see the sight he expected to see. He did not see anger in those black eyes, but tears. His eyes were crinkled in such a way that it looked like he was smiling, it was difficult to tell under his unruly beard.

"Ye wanna come inside for a cuppa tea?" Asked Hagrid, his voice breaking slightly.

"I'd love that." Draco smiled.

Inside Hagrid's hut was small, but cozy. It was the type of place that he would have scowled at in previous years, but now, he saw with new eyes. The furniture no longer looked old and torn, but well loved. Hagrid looked nervous as Draco's eyes scanned the room, seeing everything in a new light.

"I know it's not much" muttered Hagrid.

"You know, in the past I would have agreed with you." Draco said. "Now, I can't disagree with you more."

"What'd ya mean?" Asked Hagrid, turning to take the now-whistling kettle off the stove.

"I mean that I've found a new concept of wealth. Before, I believe possessions, popularity and standing meant everything. I believed that people like you and the Weasleys were the ones who were poor." As he admitted his old beliefs, he found he could not look at Hagrid, so instead he stared at some sort of bird that was hanging from a hook on the ceiling. "But now I've come to realize that I've had the world all wrong. What are possessions without happiness? What is popularity without true friends? What does standing mean if you're a horrible person? The Weasleys, who I once thought were poor, I've realized are truly the wealthiest people in the world. So I disagree when you say that your house is not much, because you may not believe me, but I would give three of my manors for a house such as yours."

While he had been talking, Hagrid had started pouring the tea. He seemed to have forgotten this though, because the mug he was filling was now spilling tea all over the floor and table. It was only when Fang barked that Hagrid was snapped out of his daze and started fumbling around with a cloth, trying to clean the mess.

"Let me" said Draco, taking out his wand and vanishing the mess. He then took the teapot and poured the tea into one mug, and what resembled a mug but was the size of a bucket.

"Thanks." Said Hagrid, who took the bucket-mug and started drinking his tea, seeming to be contemplating Draco's words as he did so. They sat in a comfortable, thoughtful silence for a while.

"D'ye mind if I ask ye something?" Hagrid inquired.

"Ask away." Draco consented.

"Wha' changed? Justa few months back ye were here, fighting fer You-Know-Who, convinced all muggle-borns an 'alf-breeds like me were scum. Wha' 'appened to make ye change yer mind?"

"Honestly, I cannot place when exactly when I started to change my views. For the past two years, my life has been a living hell. Near the end of the war, and after it, I've had a lot of trouble sleeping. I don't know if you've ever experienced lying in bed for hours with nothing but your thoughts, but it allows a lot of time for self-reflection. I mean, Voldemort treated me horribly, and I was one of his followers. Dumbledore always treated me with love and care, even when I was sent to kill him. It really messed with my mind how my supposed enemy had treated me with more care and compassion than my so called leader. Voldemort tortured and threatened not only me but my family. Then, at the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry saved my life, he could have so easily killed me, or left me to die, but he saved me instead. When my enemies showed me mercy that my friends did not, I questioned everything. Everything I had ever been taught, everything I had ever believed, and after many, many sleepless nights, I finally figured out that I had been wrong all my life, and so had my parents, and their parents before them."

"Great man, Dumbledore." Sniffed Hagrid. Draco had not realized that Hagrid was crying. He got up and awkwardly patted him on his shoulder.

"Yes" he said softly. "A great man indeed."

After Hagrid had stopped crying, the conversation turned much lighter. He told Hagrid about his House Unity project and Hagrid shared some interesting facts about a variety of creatures. Draco felt bad about how shocked he was at Hagrid's vast knowledge of magical creatures, he had always assumed that Dumbledore had been showing favouritism when he had hired Hagrid for the job, but Hagrid knew his creatures.

When the sun began to sink lower in the sky, Draco bid Hagrid farewell to go to supper. He thanked him for the tea, and Hagrid gave him some homemade rock cakes for a snack later.

* * *

Draco got back to their dormitory from dinner earlier than Hermione. This was not an unusual occurrence, as she actually had people to talk to at dinner, or she would go to the library after dinner. He sat on the couch, in front of where he had quickly put the rock cakes from Hagrid on the table before going to dinner. He did not have any homework that night, so he just sat there, thinking for a bit, before getting up and going into his room to get parchment, quills, and ink.

He put all of these writing tools on the table and just stared at them for a few minutes, before dipping his quill in the ink and started to write. This was not going to be an easy letter to write. He struggled through it, stopping frequently and scratching things out often. Finally, when he was happy with it, he began to copy it onto another piece of parchment.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sure you're wondering why you are hearing from me, don't worry, it isn't anything bad. No one's life is in danger, or been seriously hurt. That was probably your first assumption upon seeing this letter was from me. Sorry if I caused panic, I would just like you to please, read this letter. I don't really expect you to reply, but if you could finish this letter without ripping it, or throwing into the fire, I believe that would be progress._

_I thought about also sending a letter to Ron, but I had a feeling that he would have thrown it into the fire without reading it. You, have always been slightly more calm than he has, so this letter, is really, for the both of you._

_Ever since our first year, we have been enemies. I realize that this is almost completely my fault. I insulted your friends, and you stood up for them. That seems to have been the foundation of our relationship, me being hostile, and you protecting those I am being hostile to._

_Words cannot really describe how ashamed I have come to feel of my actions over the past years. This whole time, I have been wrong. Wrong to consider muggle-borns lesser than me, wrong to mock the Weasleys, and other families that I considered inferior at the time. I used to think blood-traitors were some of the worst people, obviously the people who named them so thought so too, because it has the word 'traitor' in it. However, it is really those who are not blood-traitors that are really the ones that should be ashamed. To think yourself better than someone because of your family, it's so stupid it is almost laughable._

_I also wanted to thank you for saving my life. I honestly haven't a clue why you did it, if the roles had been reversed I probably would have left my miserable arse to die, but it's probably for that reason that you were the hero, and I was the bad guy._

_You were right, you did know the right sort of people. It was me who was hanging around with the wrong sort, all this time._

_Thank you for hearing me out,_

_Draco_

Midway through copying the letter over, Hermione came back from dinner. She was obviously in a good mood, humming a tune to a song he had never heard before, it was most likely muggle music. When she saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks. It was probably an odd sight for her. Draco, writing a letter, with some of Hagrid's rock cakes.

"You have some of Hagrid's rock cakes." She stated. He was sure she meant this as a question, but how, he did not know.

"I do, would you like one?" He asked her politely. Surprisingly, she started to laugh.

"You haven't eaten any yet, have you?" She asked between fits of giggles.

"Er, no. Why?"

"Because if you had, you most certainly would not be asking me if I wanted one." She explained. He arched his eyebrow at her in question. "Let's just say, they are more rock than cake."

"Ah" he realized, pushing the rock cakes a little further from him.

"So, now that I've saved your teeth, I think you owe me an explanation of _why_ you have some of Hagrid's rock cakes."

"Well, after Care of Magical Creatures, I stuck around, as you know." He began. "Hagrid was bloody surprised to see me, luckily the shock was enough that I managed to tell him I came in peace, not to terrorize him before he could get worked up. He invited me for tea, and we talked."

"So, er, why exactly did you go?" Hermione asked him, looking quite confused. "For the past years you've tried your best to get Hagrid sacked, and suddenly you two are having tea?"

"Well, I'm not the same person I have been for the past few years, and I recon it's about time people, other than your lovely self, started to know."

"So you apologized."

"I did."

"And?" she probed

"And what?"

"Well what did he say?" She asked exasperated at his lack of understanding.

"I thought the rock cakes would have told you that much Hermione. Honestly, for the brightest witch of your age, your deductive skills really are not up to par." She laughed and smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"Okay, so he gave you rock cakes, you don't hate each other anymore. That still doesn't tell me what he _said_."

At this point, Draco realized she would settle for nothing less than the whole conversation, so he put down his quill, and told her the whole story. From Hagrid's shocked face at seeing him, to his questions, and finally to their friendly discussion at the end. Hermione sat quietly through it all, nodding sometimes.

"Who's the letter to?" She asked him. After he had finished the story, he had begun to copy his letter to Harry yet again.

"Harry" he replied, not bothering to ask how she knew it was a letter.

"_Harry?_ As in, _Harry Potter?" _She asked, dumbfouded.

"Do you know another one?"

"But, but, but you hate him!" She exclaimed.

"Hated him, Hermione, past tense." He sighed. "The same way I hated you, and I hated Hagrid."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, it must be getting on your nerves how I assume you still hate all the people you used to after you've been to nice to me."

"Don't worry, I get it." He laughed.

"You aren't writing a letter to Ron as well?" She asked tentatively.

"I thought about it." He sighed. "But if our last meaning was any indicator, he would probably just throw it in the fire at seeing who it was from, probably rip it up too. So I've made a note to Harry in here that the letter is really for the both of them. I thought about writing to Mr Weasley as well, to apologize for all the things my family has ever done to his. I don't know him that well though, so I haven't the foggiest whether or not he would read it."

"Oh Draco, that's a marvellous idea!" She exclaimed with such happiness and excitement, he would have thought he had just suggested they go to the library.

"Really? Alright, well if I write to Harry and Mr Weasley, that should cover the whole Weasley clan." He started muttering to himself, then stopped. "Should I write to Mr or Mrs Weasley?" He asked her.

"Probably best to address it to the both of them, or maybe just address it to all the Weasleys." She said with a laugh.

"Alright." He said, and, after finishing copying his letter to Harry, he began his letter to the Weasleys.

_Dear Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, and their children,_

_I am writing to you in the hopes of making amends for the past. To apologize for all of my family's actions to your family._

_I wish that I could say that this letter was from my family to your family, but I cannot. It is solely from me, my parents are far too stuck in their ways to see reason, something I have recently been blessed with._

_In the past, my father has tormented you, Mr Weasley, and possibly even contributed to you being kept down in the Ministry. He has mocked your family for your beliefs, even endangered your daughter. How you stayed strong through all that, I cannot fathom. If I had to go through half of what you went through because of my family, I most likely would have broken._

_I figure it's because you knew you were right all along. While we thought you a blood-traitor, you had realized something much, much before most of the other pureblood families had. When we mocked you for being a blood-traitor, you did not hear the word blood-traitor, but good person. You must have had a bit of a laugh at us, mocking you for being good people._

_I also would like to apologize for my actions towards your family, I taunted them at school, much as my father taunted you at work. I was foolish enough to believe in the ideals that my parents taught me, to believe myself superior to so many people._

_Last of all, I would like to thank you. If if were not for people like you and your family, the wrong side would have won the war, and a time of great darkness would be upon us._

_There is so much I would like to say to all of you, to apologize for every single one of my families wrong doings, but I will not waste your time._

_Thank you for hearing out the humble apology of a lowly pureblood,_

_Draco_

By the time he had finished, Hermione had gone to bed. Upon looking at the clock, he realized it was past curfew, so he would have to go down to the Owlery tomorrow to send his letters. He put them in envelopes and put them on his bedside table.

He noticed with happiness that Hermione did not have any nightmares that night, and he slept quite well himself.

He woke up slightly earlier than usual so he could send his letters before breakfast that morning. He wondered how they would react, and even if they did not forgive him, he had at least taken the first step and apologized.

**A/N: Well, there you have it folks, Draco has started to make amends for the past, distinguish himself from the rest of his family.**

**Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Just type it into the box and press that button that says review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	11. Chapter 11 - Exhilaration

**A/N: Hello all! This will be the last chapter from Draco's POV for a while, I finally figured out a way to do it that makes me happy and explevery everything I want to explain.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 11 - Exhilaration

It was the last day of term before Christmas, and Draco had almost signed himself on to stay at Hogwarts, but he knew that his parents would never allow that. He could almost hear what they would say.

"_Oh!" his mother would cry. "For shame Draco! Staying at Hogwarts? Do you want people to think you do not have a home to go to over Christmas?"_

"_Honestly Draco" his father would scold him. "What were you thinking? I expect now people will think we are too poor to have our child back for the holidays, even the Weasley children go home for the holidays. You have brought disgrace upon this family Draco."_

Yes, it was definitely best to just go home. Go home to his father's constant irritation of how blood status means nothing to the Ministry now. His mother's and father's arguing about, well really, everything. She blamed him for what happened during the war, almost getting their entire family killed.

He started packing, then collapsed on his bed with a loud sigh. At least there would be less pureblood gatherings over the holidays. The Ministry was keeping a closer watch on the purebloods, just in case they thought about causing any trouble.

He heard a tentative knock on his door, and sat up to see Hermione. He raised an eyebrow in question to her.

"I heard you sigh, and wondered if maybe you wanted to talk." She walked into his room and sat next to him on the bed.

"Well that's awfully nice of you." He said suspiciously.

"Yes, well, you've comforted me enough over the past months." She laughed. "Though I might try to return the favour."

"I'm just thinking about going home" said Draco. "Wish I didn't have to go."

"Can't you just stay at Hogwarts?"

"I wish, my parents would find a way to bring me back, and then I would get punished severely. Either that or I would get a Howler every hour." He laughed.

"Do you hate them?"

"My parents?" He clarified.

"Yes."

"I hate what they stand for, what they believe in. But they are my parents, so in a way, I could never fully hate them." He sighed. "You can't choose your family."

"No, but you can choose your friends, and they can be like family." Hermione smiled. "Look at Harry, you haven't met the family he had to stay with, or heard about them, but they were _dreadful_. Hated magic and everything to do with it. But he made his own family, and now he's happy."

"Yea, but I mucked that up pretty good too, didn't I? In case you haven't noticed, you're the only on in this school who even talks to me without being forced to do so. The Slytherins only tolerate me because I'm good at Quidditch. All the people who I used to torment hate me, and all the people who I used to be friends with, well I want nothing to do with them."

"So that's why you sit alone at meal times?" Hermione gasped.

"Yea. In fact, this whole House Unity thing has been a blessing. If I hadn't been forced to sit with you, I probably would be alone in all my classes." He laughed.

"I don't know how you can find that funny." Hermione looked concerned.

"I guess I've just accepted the way things are. Might as well see the humour in the situation, right?"

"I guess..."

The sat in silence for a while. Draco still lying down and Hermione perched on the end of his bed. Draco enjoyed her company, she was the last friendly face he would be seeing for a while.

"Hermione?"

"Hm?"

"Are we ever going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" He did not know if she was faking confusion or if she honestly did not know what he was talking about.

"You know"

"Actually Draco, I don't" she said shortly.

"The kiss" he sat up as she said this. He saw Hermione's body stiffen, she honestly had not known what he had been talking about.

"Draco..." she warned.

"Hermione, it happened, you can't deny it."

"I know."

"Then why do you refuse to acknowledge that it happened? Is it so awful that you kissed me? That you _enjoyed_ kissing me?"

"Who says I enjoyed it?" She asked coldly.

He moved faster than she could react. He grabbed a handful of her hair with his left hand and grabbed her waist with his right, pulling her closer to him. He brought his face only inches away from hers. Her breathing got heavy and unsteady, her chest rising and falling in a much more pronounced way. He lent his face closer to hers, and right before their lips touched, she let out a small whimper. He moved his mouth to her ear.

"I would say that's a pretty good indicator." He whispered, his breathing as heavy as hers.

She pulled back slightly, trying to control her breathing, unsuccessfully.

"Draco..." she warned again.

"Tell me you honestly did not like kissing me and I'll stop." He said, boldly staring right into her eyes.

"That's not fair."

"What's not fair? The fact that you actually enjoyed kissing me? Or that you can't wait for it to happen again?"

"No, how you're toying with my emotions. Trying to fool me into thinking you care, making me have feelings for you. Are you so desperate for human contact that you resort to playing mind games with me?"

"If I were desperate for human contact, do you honestly think I would try and trick the smartest witch I knew? Wouldn't it be so much easier to find a willing Slytherin girl and make her believe I'm still the prat I used to be? Why bother such an elaborate facade with you?" He challenged her.

"Well if you could have any Slytherin girl so easily, why bother wasting all this time and effort on me? Just go play pretend and shag a girl!" She challenged him back.

"Because" he said softly, "you're worth it."

"That's rich Malfoy." She snorted. "Tell me, how many girls have you used that line on before? How many girls _actually_ fell for it?"

"Well so far the count appears to be at one and zero."

"One and zero? So, ten?"

"No, I've said that to only you, and it appears to have not worked. So I've used it on one girl, and no one has fallen for it." he said. "Unless you'd like to make it one and one." He said with a wink.

"No, I don't think so." She laughed. "I think some rejection would do wonders for your ego."

"Well, the offer stands, if you ever change your mind." He said seriously, then changing his tone, he joked, "unless of course I've decided to play pretend and shag some Slytherin girl. Then, would you mind waiting until I'm done?" She rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, why do I bother with you?" She sighed.

"Well, I've heard it's because I'm one hell of a snog." He teased.

"Oh really? Who told you that? Because my sources say you aren't that good."

"I'll gladly prove all your sources wrong." He growled, grabbing her again. He pinned her up against a wall, arms on her waist on both sides. He had blocked all her chances of escape, she seemed to realize this too, but her eyes were focus solely on his lips. She licked her own lips. _Merlin she looked sexy when she does that_ he groaned to himself.

He pressed his body completely against hers, they foreheads and noses now touching. They were both breathing quickly and heavily in anticipation. Finally, when he could not take it anymore, he pressed his lips to hers. This time, she did not hesitate in kissing him back. Their lips moved together in a frenzy of passion. He bit her bottom lip, she moaned. She began to run her hands down his chest and he felt a growl escape his throat.

He wound his right hand into her hair, it was incredibly soft despite its bushy appearance. He slipped his hand under her shirt, stroking her soft skin, and he heard another moan escape her. He kissed her more forcefully, her moans arising things in him he had never felt before. He felt her hands were almost at his waistband again. He groaned, remembering what she had done last time.

With an incredible amount of effort, he broke the kiss off, knowing that if he did not soon, he doubted he would be able to. He looked at her, she was breathing heavily, her chest rising up and down. He stared hungrily at her, and felt her hands were resting on his abs.

"What do your sources say now?" He whispered huskily.

"My sources?" she looked confused. "Oh right, er, well they, er..." She trailed off.

"Well if I've managed to still the mind of Hermione Granger, I'll take it as a compliment." He smirked down at her.

She huffed and tried to push him away, but he did not budge. She crossed her arms, frustrated.

"Let me go." She demanded, aiming for her most commanding voice.

"No" he replied stubbornly. "Tell me you enjoyed it." He enjoyed watching the array of expressions float across her face. First shock, then frustration, and finally, defeat.

"Ok fine, I enjoyed it." She said, exasperated. 'Now let me go!"

"If you enjoyed it, why would you want to go anywhere?" He asked, pressing his body again to hers.

"I, er, I have to, er, pack! Yes, I have to pack."

"Nonsense," he scoffed. "You are Hermione Granger, neat freak. You probably started to pack days ago and finished yesterday."

"You told me if I said I enjoyed it you would let me go!" She whined.

"Actually, I didn't. I told you I wouldn't let you go and then told you to admit you enjoyed it. I never said if you did I'd let you go." He corrected her. She huffed, realizing he was right.

"That's playing pretty dirty."

"If recent events suggest anything, dirty's the way you like it." He said suggestively, winking at her.

"Draco!" She exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.

"Yes?" he whispered huskily, pressing himself even closer to her. All the shock and horror in her eyes were replaced by lust.

"Thats... That's not fair. You can't just do that to get out of trouble."

"Do what?" he whispered in the same husky voice, moving his hand from her hair to her cheek, stroking it delicately.

"Thaaat..." she moaned.

"This?" he asked, gently kissing her forehead, nose, and then tracing her jaw line with kisses.

"Mmmmmmmm" was her only reply. He started up her jaw again, and then nibbled her ear slightly. Making his way down her neck he stopped midway and nibbled there too, she let out another moan. He lathered her neck with kisses, biting occasionally and earning another moan from Hermione. If the sounds she was making were any indication, she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

With extreme difficultly, he leaned away again. She was staring at him hungrily, biting her lips.

"Well love, I hate to stop when you were enjoying yourself so much, but I actually do have to pack." He taunted her, moving his body away from hers and then walking towards his closet to get some of his clothes.

"Maybe I wasn't enjoying myself, maybe I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." She retorted, appearing to have regained her sense of mind now that there was some distance between them. He crossed the room in seconds and grabbed her again.

"Do you really want to test that?" He whispered in the same husky voice that had caused such a rise out of her earlier. She whimpered slightly. "That's what I thought." He murmured, briefly kissing her lips.

He walked away from her again to continue his packing with great difficultly.

"Malfoy, that trick is getting old quite fast." She snapped.

"Well if you didn't keep being stubborn and denying your feelings maybe I could stop having to resort to such tactics." He smirked.

"Why does it matter so much to you that I admit I enjoy it?"

"Maybe I just think it's high time you let yourself enjoying something Hermione." She started to say something but he cut her off before she could. "I _don't _mean studying or the library, I mean really enjoying something, something that maybe not everyone approves of, but you do it anyway. I'm not talking about something that you just enjoy, I'm talking about something that exhilarates you, makes your heart beat in your chest so loudly you're worried the whole world can hear it."

She stared at him, open mouthed, before gathering her wits again.

"Maybe I should snog Ron when I see him over Christmas then." She teased.

"Is it really Ron you want to snog?" He asked her, completely serious.

"I..." she faltered upon seeing the dead serious look in his eye. "I don't know" she sighed.

"Think about it." He stated simply, and turned around to finish packing.

When he turned around again, she was gone. He took one last longing look at his room, grabbed his trunk and left.

**A/N: Well there you go!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	12. Chapter 12 - Escape

**A/N: I would like to thank the wonderful human being who has agreed to go through and check for the little spelling errors I've missed. Not only that, but has helped me when I'm stuck on a part in the story. You are glorious and I love you. :)**

**So, ****this is now from Hermione's POV, and after I feel I have sorted through the necessary thoughts and emotions so it's clear where both Hermione's and Draco's head are at, I will go back to Draco.**

**Also, in this fanfic, Hermione found her parents in Australia between the end of the war and the start of the new school year, so she is spending Christmas at home with them.**

**I think that's everything. Happy reading!**

Chapter 12 - Escape

It was Christmas holidays, she should be enjoying herself. Instead, her thoughts were consumed by a certain blonde haired boy who made her pulse rise drastically every time he came close to her. _Think about it_ he had said. She had not expected such a calm answer from him, especially considering his previous actions that day. She hated how she reacted whenever he grabbed her, proving whatever point he had tried to make when she stubbornly refused to admit to him how much she enjoyed the presence of his lips on hers.

_Snap out of it Hermione_ she scolded herself. Now was not the time to think about him kissing her. She was supposed to be enjoying Christmas with her parents, she had not seen them for almost all of last year after all. She pushed Malfoy out of her head and got up. She looked at her clock, it read 8:47 am. She left her room, and walked down the stairs for breakfast.

When she got to the kitchen, the was surprised to see both her parents were awake, and making breakfast.

"Morning sweetie" her father greeted her with a smile.

"Morning dad" she replied, giving him a side hug as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Good morning darling" she mother yawned. Her mother had never been a morning person, which meant most of Hermione's father-daughter time had been spent in the morning with her dad, before her mother was awake.

"Good morning mom" she laughed. "How'd dad managed to get you up this early?"

"I was promised bacon." She laughed, gesturing at her father cooking by the stove.

"Ah" said Hermione. "Bacon. That'll do it."

"Sweetheart, your mother and I have tickets for the opera tonight. We didn't think you would enjoy it so we didn't get you a ticket. We are leaving at five so we can go to dinner first. Feel free to see one of your friends though, at their house or ours. I know you can travel much faster than us muggle folk so we didn't think the short notice would be a problem." He teased.

"Alright" she smiled. "I might go out, or I may just have a quiet night, I'm not sure yet."

"Ok hunnie, whatever you decide, just be safe." Her dad smiled at her. "Alright! Breakfast is ready! Who is ready for the ultimate breakfast experience?"

Hermione and her mother both laughed and sat down at the table. Her dad's cooking was always good.

"So I baked the bacon this time, instead of frying it." He explained. "Roger from work told me that it cooks it a lot more evenly, whereas with frying, you get some places burnt. What do you think?"

"Mmmmmmmmm" Hermione sighed, she had missed her dad's cooking. She smiled at him and exclaimed "I think this is better than Hogwarts!"

"Well I've never had Hogwarts food, but I'll agree with Hermione. Looks like we know where 'Mione got her magic from!" Her mother joked, laughing.

The rest of the meal fell in a comfortable silence as everyone enjoyed their food. Her dad's cooking really was amazing, he had deeply considered culinary school before his heart fell on dentistry. He often joked that it was the best decision of his life, because if he had chosen cooking, he might not have met Hermione's mother.

As breakfast was finishing, an owl flew in through an open window and landed in front of Hermione, extending it's leg expectingly. Hermione was slightly confused, who could the letter be from? She didn't recognize the owl. _Perhaps Harry got a new owl_ she thought to herself, untying the letter from the owls leg.

"I think I'll take him up to my bedroom" Hermione told her parents. "I don't have an owl of my own so I'll need him to send the reply."

"Alright dear, don't worry, we'll clean up breakfast." Hermione shot them a grateful smile before climbing up the stairs, with the unknown owl perched on her arm.

Once she got into her room, the owl hooted and fluttered off her arm and perched itself on the back left corner of her desk. For the first time, she really looked at the letter.

_Hermione_ was the single word written on the envelope in a familiar style. She was confused, where had she seen this writing before? It wasn't Ron's or Harry's, it was much to neat.

She carefully opened the letter and scanned the bottom for a name.

It was from Draco. It read:

_Hermione,_

_I'm sure you are surprised to hear from me, but I was in need of a friend to talk to. Seeing as you are the only one I currently consider a true friend, I'm afraid you will have to deal with me over the holidays as well. If you do not wish to reply, that's fine, but my letters will keep coming. I just simply need to get my thoughts out of my head, and I don't really trust leaving pieces of paper with my thoughts on them, but sending them to you seemed like a good idea._

_I wish I could write to you about the wonderful time I am having with my parents over the holidays, but I'm afraid I am miserable. I find myself making excuses to go out, even though I don't have anywhere to go, simply so I do not have to be around them._

_My mother appears to have had a slight change of heart after the war. It seems that thinking her only child might be dead had some effect on her. My father, however, has stubbornly maintained his beliefs. As I'm sure you can imagine, this causes a lot of friction between the two of them. It is also one of the main reason I find myself outside so much, I don't really fancy being caught in the middle of that argument._

_Maybe one day I will speak out against my father. Honestly I'm a bit worried at his reaction, not only towards me, but towards my mother as well, since I find it likely that she will agree with me. If my father continues to act like he has been acting, the little respect the name Malfoy still has will be ruined. Since I bear that name as well, I find I am concerned for it's reputation. A part of me wants to struggle to build up that name once more, not to what it once was, but to what I want it to stand for myself._

_The other part of me wants to disown my family and change my name, but I think that would not be being true to myself. I am, after all, a Malfoy. I just currently hate what that name stands for. To deny my name would be to deny my past, which I do not want to do, but I also do not want it to affect my future._

_I am sorry to drone on and on about names, I'm starting to sound like my father. The one comfort I have is knowing I am different, knowing that I have changed. I have befriended a rather lovely muggle-born, and a half giant, as well as apologizing to Harry Potter and the whole Weasley family. Could you imagine the shocked look on my father's face if he were to find out? It always gives me a laugh._

_Well I've droned on about my petty problems long enough, tell me, how is your holiday going? Doing anything exciting with your parents? How many books have you read?_

_I do hope you reply,_

_Draco_

She read his letter over twice, absentmindedly stroking the owl and she did so. She felt sorry for him. She found her parchment, quill and ink and began to write him a reply.

_Draco,_

_I am sorry to hear that the holiday spirit has not yet reached your house. My parents are extremely happy to have me home for the holidays. Because of the events of last year, I was unable to see them, only reuniting at the end of last summer, so this Christmas is a happy one indeed._

_Tonight, they are going out to the opera, I don't know if they have anything like operas in the wizerding world, so I was planning on having a quiet night at home. If you wanted to, maybe you could drop by if you will be out of the house, since you are out so frequently. I could introduce you to a bunch of muggle things, and we can picture your father's reaction if he found out what you were doing._

_For your information, I have yet to pick up a book since I have gotten home, I spent all of yesterday playing board games with my parents, and was exhausted when I went to bed._

_All my best,_

_Hermione_

She quickly put her letter in an envelope and tied it to the owl. With one last hoot, the owl flew out of her window.

She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then went into the shower. She let the hot water run over her. She had always enjoyed showers, the hot water was so soothing. Also, as hardly anyone would ever interrupt her when she was in the shower, she found it a marvellous place to think.

She had invited Draco Malfoy over to her house, she realized. She could have invited Harry, or Ron, or gone to the Burrow, but instead, she had invited Draco Malfoy. Why? Because she felt sorry for him, that was logical, but there was something else too. He had changed. He was no longer the boy who tormented her and her friends, he had grown up. _And boy did he grow up well_ she thought, thinking of when she had run her fingers over his body.

He had said that she was the only one he considered his true friend right now. He seemed to be quite lacking in the friend department. In all the years but this one, he had isolated himself to Slytherins, making all the other Houses hate him. This year, he had wanted nothing to do with the Slytherins, distancing himself from them as much as possible. Because of this, he was left with no one. None of the other Houses knew he had changed, she wondered if that was one purpose or not. If he made a big fuss about it to the school, word would surely get home to daddy, and he would be in major trouble.

He said that one of the main reasons he did not speak out against his father was because he was afraid that his father would not only take out his anger on him, but on his mother as well. Hermione remembered that it had been Draco's mother who had told Voldemort that Harry was dead, because he had told her that her son was alive. _At least his mother is decent then, _she thought, unlike his father, she actually cared about her son, cared enough to stand up in her own way to Voldemort.

She felt bad for Draco, no matter what he did, he could not win. No matter which side he was on, someone would get hurt. He had said that he wanted to rebuild the name Malfoy, but not to the way it way before, to the way he wanted it to be. She could not help but wonder what he wanted for his family name. Maybe for it to stand for something good like the Weasleys?

She remembered how angry he had gotten all the times she had brought up his past actions. He must hate himself for it. She remembered him telling her that her screaming was not the only reason he could not sleep, and he was haunted by the past just as he was. He had changed so much from the arrogant boy he used to be, Hagrid had said so too when she had next seen him.

"_'E's changed 'Ermione" Hagrid said with a smile. "If I hadn't 'ave recognized him, I would 'ave thought he was a completely different person. I recon if Buckbeak were 'ere, he would have let him go fer a ride!" Hagrid said proudly._

Malfoy. The same Malfoy who had only known hate. She could not help but wondering what had done it. Hagrid said that he had told him that there had not a specific point in time which he had changed, but even throughout the course of the year, he had still been changing. _I guess sleepless nights did him some good after all_ she thought.

She finally got out of the shower, feeling refreshed. She dried herself off, and wrapped a towel around her body, heading back to her room. When she got there, she was surprised to see that Draco's owl was back. She smiled, he had replied quickly.

She untied the letter from the owl's leg and opened it, it was much shorter that the last one.

_Hermione,_

_I would love to have a destination on one of my wanderings._

_Also, these board games sound fascinating._

_What time would you like me there?_

_Draco_

She paused briefly to consider this. Should she tell her parents that Draco was coming over? Should she tell him to arrive beforehand and meet her parents? She bit her lip.

_Draco,_

_Arrive before five if you would like to meet my parents, or after if you do not wish to be interrogated by my father as to every conversation we have every had._

_All my best,_

_Hermione_

There, she would leave it up to him to decide. She tied the letter to the owl's leg and watched it fly out the window again.

After it left, she got dressed, she looked at the time, 11:30, _wow, breakfast and showering took longer than usual, _she thought. Granted, she had replied to two letters.

She fiddled with her hair a little bit, and used a de-frizzing charm she had recently read about and it did wonders. The last time her hair looked this good was for the Yule Ball, _Merlin I love magic_ she thought.

She went down the stairs and found her parents playing chess, not wizards, that Ron loved to much, but the kind of chess where you actually had to move the pieces and they did not actually physically attack each other. She like this kind of chess a lot better. She watched her parents play for a while, after years of playing each other, they were quite evenly matched. The games would normally end with hardly any players left on the board, and this game was no different, currently, her dad had his king, a knight, and a rook, while her mother had only her king and a bishop.

Finally, her dad managed to corner her mother's king into a corner with his three remaining pieces, and her mother sighed, declaring checkmate. Her dad smiled and gave her mother a kiss.

"'Mione, how about you play your mother while I make lunch?" Her father asked.

"Sounds brilliant." She smiled.

"Any requests?"

"A BLT would be wonderful dear." Said her mother.

"A BLT works for me dad." Hermione agreed.

"BLTs it is" her dad smiled, and began puttering around the kitchen, gathering ingredients.

Hermione beat her mother in chess, she had always been quite good, perhaps even better than Ron. She had never told him how much she loved chess though, she had always been too worked up over the fact that the pieces smashed each other to bits. By the time they had finished their game, lunch was almost ready. They cleared and set the table, and sat down for lunch.

After they had eaten lunch and cleared the plates, they were just discussing what to do with the rest of their afternoon when Draco's owl came fluttering into their living room. Hermione went back to her room and untied the letter from the owl's leg.

_Hermione,_

_Compared to my father, I'm sure yours will be nothing._

_How does three o'clock sound?_

_Draco_

She checked the time, it was 1:24.

_Draco,_

_Three will be fine. It would be better not to mention you tormented me for the past seven years, or the kiss._

_All my best,_

_Hermione_

Hermione also enclosed her address on a separate piece of parchment, so he would know where to Apparate.

She once more tied the letter to the owl's leg and it flew away. She went back downstairs.

"Who's the owl from dear?" Asked her mother.

"A friend at school, he's not in the best home situation right now so I invited him over. He will be here at three, is that ok?"

"He?" inquired her father.

"He's not my boyfriend dad, don't worry. He's actually Head Boy this year." She added the last part, knowing her father, knowing the school trusted him with that title made him ease up.

"Oh, don't mind your father, he's just a bit overprotective." Her mother teased. "Three will be fine dear."

The next hour and a half passed quickly enough, and, at 2:57, she heard a _Crack! _that could only be someone Apparating. She got up from her chair to see Draco, right inside her front door.

"Hi" she said smiling at him.

"Hullo" he greeted her back, smiling just as widely, looking around.

Hermione's parents appeared behind her.

"Mom, Dad, this is Draco." She introduced them.

He shook both her parents hands, greeting them as he did so. He was dressed in nice jeans, and a dark blue button up shirt.

"So, Draco, do you play chess?" Asked her father. Her father had always said that you could really judge a person on how they played chess. Hermione giggled.

"Yes, I do." Smiled Draco, shooting Hermione an inquisitive glance.

"Ah perfect." Smiled her father. "Fancy a game?"

"Sure"

All four of them walked back to the living room, where the chess board already lay out. They sat down and Draco looked slightly confused at the chess set. Hermione did not say anything, the temptation of seeing Draco's confusion and the muggle chess set was far too great.

"White goes first." Hermione's dad said.

"Right. Pawn to 4D." He said, very clearly. His brow furrowed in confusion as the piece did not move. He cleared his throat. "Pawn to 4D." He repeated, slightly louder this time. Hermione had lost control at her laughter at the point, and was curled over on in the chair. Everyone else turned to look at her, wondering what she could be laughing at. She calmed herself down slightly.

She looked up to inform Draco that this was not wizard's chess, but one look at Draco's frustrated face and her father's equally confused one sent her into another fit of laughter.

"Would you mind sharing what's so funny dear?" Asked her father.

Between fits of laughter, she managed "not...hehe...wizard's...hahahe...chess.." and collapsed into another fit of giggles.

"What do you mean not wizard's chess 'Mione?" asked her father, still confused. "Do magical folk have another version of this game?" Hermione finally managed to calm herself.

"Yes. Draco, this isn't wizard's chess, you have to actually _move_ the pieces, with your hands. You can talk to them all you want, but they aren't going to move." She explained.

"Ah." Said Draco. "That makes sense. So I gather these pieces won't talk either?"

"You mean the way you play chess the piece move on their own and talk?" Inquired her father, looking wide-eyed.

"Yes dad." Replied Hermione. "In fact, they also smash each other to bits instead of just replacing each other in a civilized manner."

"Really? That's brilliant?" Exclaimed her father, not looking the last bit concerned about the welfare of the chess pieces.

After Draco finally realized how to play, he and her father began playing, and Draco beat him both times they played. After the second time, her father raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, I give up." He said. "I am obviously fighting a losing battle here. Plus, we have to go in about ten minutes. Why don't you play 'Mione? She'll give you a run for your money." He smiled proudly.

"Really Hermione? You're good at chess? Does Ron know this?" He asked teasingly.

"Oh, our 'Mione's one of the best we know." Said her father proudly.

"Dad, I'm not that good." Smiled Hermione.

"Nonsense dear, neither of us have been able to beat you in year!" Her mother interjected.

Hermione sat down where her father had previously been sitting.

Draco, being white, moved first.

"Pawn to 5E" Hermione said, teasing Draco.

"Very funny Hermione." Smirked Draco. "This isn't wizard's chess you know."

"What?" Exclaimed Hermione is mock horror. "You mean I have to actually _touch_ the pieces? And they won't smash each other to bits? What a shame."

Everyone laughed.

After ten minutes of playing chess, Hermione had loss some pieces, but she noted with a smile that she had lost less that Draco.

"Well kids, we're off." Said her father, smiling. "You two have fun. But not too much fun." He added, throwing Draco a threatening glare.

Hermione laughed. "Don't worry dad. You two have fun too!" She hugged both of them goodbye, and watched their car pull out of the drive way."

"So Miss Granger," smiled Draco. "I finally have you all to myself."

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	13. Chapter 13 - Dares

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I won't bore you with excuses, I know there are things you would rather be reading. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13 - Dares

"_So Miss Granger," smiled Draco. "I finally have you all to myself."_

"Want to finish that chess game?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Changing the subject on me? Alright, I'll bite. If I win, what do I get?" He asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Um, I don't know. What do I get if I win?"

"Name your price Granger, and I'll name mine." He smiled.

"I don't like the sound of that Malfoy."

"We're both sporting the same risk."

"Hmmmmm" she pondered. "And there's no getting out of it?"

"None at all" he smiled wickedly. "Write what you want down on a piece of paper, and I'll do the same. Whoever losses picks up the other person's piece of paper and has to do what it says."

"And what happens if they don't do it?"

"Then the winner gets to punish them however they see fit." The wicked smile was still on his face.

"Alright Malfoy. You have yourself a bet."

They both wrote their demands on separate pieces of paper and placed them folded them. They the put them under the chess board.

"You ready to lose Granger?"

"You wish Malfoy." She currently had the upper hand, there was no way she could lose.

Apparently, there actually was a way. She noticed that she did not have more pieces than him anymore, and the next thing she knew, her king was in checkmate. She looked at him, dumbfounded.

"But... how?" she muttered. I had you, and then I didn't, and now..."

"A few years ago, my father got me a wizard's chess training board." He explained. "I had complained to him that no one would ever play chess with me, so he got me a board that could. It has about ten levels, from really easy to absolutely impossible. Well, after 4 years of lonely summers and christmas holidays, I am proud to say, I managed to beat the absolutely impossible level. One of the tricks I learned was so surrender a few unnecessary pieces at the beginning of the game so that your opponenet doesn't think you are as strong an opponent as you actually are. Then, once they get confident, slowly sneak up on them and trap the king before they realize what has happened."

"That's brilliant!" She exclaimed. "You must have been laughing when we made that bet, you knew there was no way I could beat you. We're both sporting the same risk my arse."

"Okay fine, I tricked you." He laughed. "Any way I could make it up to you?"

"You have to do mine too."

"Do your..?" He looked confused.

"You have to meet my demands."

"Ah, so we both end up having to follow through?"

"Yes."

"You know, if you wanted a snog this bad you could have just asked." He winked at her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's what yours says" she muttered.

"Naw, too predictable. Plus, I don't really need to go to all this trouble to snog you Hermy, I know you're more than willing."

"What did you just call me?"

"Hermy." He said, smiling. "I quite like it."

"No."

"No? I don't think you can decide what I like Hermy."

"Stop calling me that."

"Don't think I will Hermy."

"Stop. Calling. Me. That." Her anger was rising.

"What'll you do Hermy? Hex me?" He smirked.

"Don't tempt me Malfoy."

"Hermy, no need to go back to last names again."

"STOP CALLING ME HERMY!" She bellowed at him. She hated that name. He could not have know that the kids at her old school had called her 'Hermy Germy', but it infuriated her nonetheless.

"Hermione, calm down, it's a joke." He said softly, getting up from the other side of the table to sit next to her, then placing his hand over hers. "How about we see what the other one has to do?"

"Ok"

They both picked up the opposite piece of paper from under the chess board.

_You, Hermione Granger, are required to spend one day with me, Draco Malfoy, and are not allowed to think things through. You, Hermione Granger, will be required to, for once in your life, do whatever the hell you want, consequences be damned._

She smiled at the eloquence in this. She had expected something tacky, but he had thought this through. She heard Draco laugh as he read hers.

"Draco Malfoy is required to read thirteen books, chosen by Hermione Granger." He laughed. "Wouldn't have expected anything else 'Mione."

"Draco, how am I not supposed to think things through? That's just what I do."

"Well 'Mione, it's very simple, you just think of things you would like to do, and do them. Don't worry, if you run out of ideas, I'll just start suggesting things, and you say yes or no without thinking. It's simple really, it's how most people live their lives!" He smiled.

"Alright Draco, when will this day be?"

"Yet to be determined. What books do I have to read?"

"I'll give you the first one when you leave tonight, and the next one after you finish that one."

"Alright then 'Mione, it's a deal." He smiled. "So, what are these board games you told me about? I want to get as familiar with the muggle world as possible, it's my quiet rebellion you see."

She went over to their game cupboard and open it, taking all the games out and putting them on the table.

"Pick one" she told him. He obliged, standing beside her and looking through the board games as they were the most spectacular things in the world. He finally decided on operation.

"Ok, here's how you play" she began, getting the game out of the box, and began to put all the little pieces in the figure. "You have to use these tweezers to get the pieces out of the holes, but you can't touch the edges of the hole or else you lose your turn."

"How do I know if I've touched the edges of the hole?" He asked curiously.

"Try it and find out" she was enjoying Draco being completely oblivious far too much. He took the tweezers and rammed them into the edge of the one of the holes, and jumped about four feet in the air the is starting buzzing and the light went on. After he regained his balance, he gently placed the tweezers on the edge again, not jumping slightly less this time.

"Marvellous!" He exclaimed. "Does this run on eclekticity?" He asked with wide eyes, reminding her for a moment of Arthur Weasley. She started laughing at him.

"Electricity Draco." She laughed.

"Right, eclektricity."

"Electricity"

"Electricity?"

"Yes"

"Ok, shall we play?"

"Alright, you can go first."

"And what's the wager this time?"

"Do you bet on everything?" She sighed.

"Normally no, but I find it much more amusing with you." He smiled genuinely

"Alright, if I win, you have to cook me dinner." She said with a smile, imagining Draco trying to cook. She doubted he would even know how to turn the stove on.

"Am I allowed to use magic?"

"Sure" she took pity on him. At least with magic he might stand a chance.

"Alright, if I win, you have to admit your feelings for me." He said proudly.

"My feelings?" She asked skeptically. "What makes you think I have feelings for you?" She half expected him to grab her again and make her force defeat, a part of her wanted him to as well.

"Well of course you have feelings for me. Even when you hated me you had feelings for me. They were just feelings of hate." He explained.

"Oh, so what you really meant was I had to tell you what my feeling towards you are."

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Alright , you're on."

He wasn't as good as this game as he was chess. Twice, she caught him trying to use magic. At the end, she had 9 pieces to his meagre 3.

"Alas, I am defeated." He sighed. "Too bad, I really wanted to know."

"Well you can't be good at everything Draco."

"I supposed not" he sighed again. "Alright, shall I get to dinner then?"

"You mean you're actually going to cook me dinner?" She was shocked, she had expected him to try everything in his power to get out of it. Instead he was looking through the cupboards and fridge for ingredients.

"Well of course 'Mione, a deals a deal!" He smiled at her.

"The deal wasn't to burn my house down" She told him.

"I know" he laughed.

"Or poison me" she added.

"I am aware of that. Why would I want to poison you? I've become quite fond of you." He said, still riffling through the fridge. He had taken out the milk, butter, chicken and mushrooms. From the cupboard he extracted some thin spaghetti. He then found a large pot and filled it with water and place it on the stove. The turned the element to 'light' and cast some flames out of his wand. She stared at him as he went about doing all this.

After he covered the pot of water with a lid, he began to cut up the mushrooms, and then on a separate cutting board, the chicken. He took out a fry pan and began to cook the chicken in the butter, and after it was done, added the mushrooms. While this was happening the water had boiled, and he had quickly put the spaghetti in and turned the temperature down, and placed the lid back on. After the chicken and mushrooms were done, he poured the milk in, reaching and putting some spices she could not see in.

He placed the milk and butter back in the fridge, and checked on the spaghetti.

"Almost done" he said with a smile to a still openmouthed Hermione.

"You..." she sputtered. "You can cook?"

"Ah, so your challenge was meant to embarrass me, was it?" He laughed. "You aren't very good at this whole humiliating thing, are you? Maybe I'll teach you a few tips and tricks during dinner."

"But.." she stuttered, still in shock. "But how?"

He took the pasta and put it through a colander, put the pasta back in the pot, and poured the sauce with the chicken and mushrooms into the pot as well before answering."

"Well, after the war, I didn't really have much to do so the whole rest of the year and summer, I got our house elves to teach me how to cook. I think they were grateful for the help, they were really marvellous teachers." He explained. "It was a good distraction, and it was nice to do something for a change, not just sit around and be waited on. I guess I also like quiet rebellions." He added in jest.

He served the pasta into two bowls, and placed them on the table, along with two forks and two spoons.

"Anything to drink m'lady?"

"Just water, thanks."

He poured them both a glass of water, and sat down. Hermione took a bite and was amazed at how good it was, it could almost rival her dad's cooking. Almost.

"Well?" He asked, eyeing her.

"Mmmmmmmmm" she sighed.

"You seem to favour that sound around me" he winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and eat your food Draco."

Draco left around 10. As he stood in the doorway, he smiled.

"What? No goodbye kiss?" He looked hurt.

"No, but if you play your cards right you might get a goodbye slap." She teased.

"Alright Granger, no need to get hostile now. So, about that book?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "I almost forgot!" She proceeded to run up the stairs, and grab The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes off her bookshelf. She ran down the stairs again and placed it in his outstretched hands. He looked at the thick book and sighed.

"I guess I couldn't expect a light read from you, Granger."

"Actually, I think you'll enjoy it. It's a muggle classic, so you can continue your quiet rebellion." She laughed.

"Night 'Mione" he said and before she could stop him, he placed a kiss on her forehead and Apparated.

She sighed, looking at the place where he had just vanished. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed his company. For all his faults, he could hold a good conversation, and argument for that matter. He challenged her, and not only at chess. Plus, though she would never mention it to him, he was one hell of a good snog.

**A/N: Well, there you have it.**

**Any suggestions on what books she should make him read would be greatly appreciated.**

**Again, I would like the wonderful human being that takes the form of my editor, as well as all those who gave me such wonderful reviews.**

**Thanks for ****reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	14. Chapter 14 - Reflections

**A/N: So this chapter is shorter than the rest of the recent ones, but I need to try to explain Hermione's thoughts. Enjoy!**

Chapter 14 – Reflections

The letter came four days later, so early it woke Hermione up. _I guess he must be a morning person then_ she thought, groaning slightly as she slowly got out of the warmth that was her bed. She untied the letter from the owl's leg, and sat down at her desk to read it.

_Hermione,_

_Tomorrow's the day you are not allowed to think!_

_I will arrive at 10 o'clock in the morning. Whatever happens next is up to you._

_Draco_

She now kept her parchment, quills and ink ready on her desk, Draco's letters were so frequent she did not see the point in putting them away.

_Draco,_

_See you at 10 o'clock tomorrow then._

_Can't believe you talked me into this._

_All my best,_

_Hermione_

The rest of the day, she received no more letters from him, which was odd, considering she normally received quite a few. She wondered if she should take this lack of communication as a good or bad sign. It was possible he was just busy, it was also possible this meant he was planning something. When her parents got home that night from work, she went downstairs to greet them and tell them of her plans for tomorrow.

"You're going out tomorrow with Draco? How wonderful!" her mother exclaimed, smiling.

"Is it a date?" Her father looked suspicious. "Not that I would mind, he was a damn good chess player, didn't play dirty either."

"No Dad, it isn't a date. Like I told you before, he is having some troubles at home so I think he just likes seeing a friendly face." She explained to them sadly.

"That would explain why he has been writing so much." Her mother said, smiling.

"I could think of another reason he's been writing so much." Her father mumbled under his breath.

"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What? Hermione, boys generally don't meet a girls parents that deliberately just because he likes writing to her." Her dad teased.

"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed again, but she could not deny that fact. She had no idea about what Draco's feelings towards her were, or what her feelings were towards him. They had kissed, twice, both times initiated by him. For all of term, he had really been nothing but nice to her. She had always assumed it was because of House Unity, but he had gone above and beyond being nice to her in front of other people. Really, it was when they were alone where he had showed the most compassion towards her.

When he had come back to the dorm after lessons to her screaming, he had held her until she stopped crying. After he had told her not to lock her door anymore, she had noticed her nightmares had not been as bad, and though he was never there when she woke up, she had a feeling that he would hold her until she stopped screaming. He would always leave though, but really, that was her fault. After all, she had attacked him when she had found him in her bed.

Then, there was how he had reacted when she had come back fro seeing Ron. If she had not known better, she would have said that he was jealous. Why would Draco be jealous though? Jealous of Ron? That did not sound at all like Draco. He had also kissed her that night, after she had challenged him as to why he even cared about her, thinking that he was just being a prat. She had told him that she hated him, something that was not true at all, but she had been so angry, her only thought had been how much she wanted to hurt him. He had then kissed her, and in a whirlwind of emotions, she had kissed him back. What a kiss it had been, it was as if all the fire from her anger that had consumed her turned into a fire of lust. All she had wanted was him, everywhere. He had stirred up feelings inside her that she did not even knew existed, and that scared her.

It seemed that he knew his effect on her as well, on that last day before Christmas holidays, he had used it to his advantage. Whenever she had tried to deny it, he had grabbed her, pressing their bodies together. Though, for all his cockiness and smug behaviour, he seemed to really care about her. _Because you're worth it_ he had told her. At the time, she assumed that it was just another one of those lines that guys say when they wanted to convince a girl he cared so he could shag her, but on reflection, she saw that it had really been a slip up. He generally hid behind a wall of sarcastic remarks, but every so often, he would say something that he truly meant.

_Think about it._ Those were possibly the three most confusing words ever uttered from the mouth of Draco Malfoy. For all his jokes on the Sunday he had come over, he had not asked about if she had thought about her feelings. The only time he mentioned it was in that dare, but even then, he had lost so horrendously, she had her doubts on whether or not he had lost on purpose. Not only so she was not forced to answer his question, but also so he could show off his cooking skills.

Draco Malfoy was a riddle, that was one thing she was sure of. He had the opportunity to get whatever he had wanted from her, as he had known he was going to beat her in chess, but instead of embarrassing her, or making her do something, he had gone with something that he probably thought would benefit her the most.

"Honey?" her mother's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yes? Sorry Mom, I was thinking." Hermione apologized, knowing she had probably just been ignoring her parents for several minutes.

"When are you not?" Her mother laughed. Her mother did not know the true humour in her comment though, because tomorrow, she was supposed to be doing exactly that, not thinking.

She did not say much throughout dinner, her thoughts still full of a certain blonde that she would be seeing for all of tomorrow.

She went to bed early that night, but not because she was tired. She needed to think, and felt bad zoning out on her parents.

She needed to figure out what was going though Draco's mind. She needed to figure out what was going through her mind. She also needed to think, a lot, because tomorrow, she was not allowed to.

_Okay, so he kissed me, and I enjoyed it._ That meant she liked snogging Draco, it did not tell her what her feelings were towards him. She assumed it also meant he liked snogging her, or at least liked her reaction when he snogged her. The first option seemed more likely though, because she was not the only one who was affected whenever they were close.

_So we like snogging each other_ she concluded. That was something.

She flopped down onto her bed, figuring this out was exhausting.

Slowly, she drifted to sleep. Her dreams were confusing. In one dream, Draco was down on one knee in front of her with a ring, but when he opened his mouth, it was not his voice. He slowly turned into Ron, who told her that he wanted to be the man who made her happy, and Draco made her happy. In another, she saw Draco and Harry shaking hands, and the talking in a friendly manner, but she could not make out what they were saying. Ron suddenly appeared beside her and started dragging her away from the friendly Harry and Draco, telling her that he needed to tell her something and proceeded to take her into an empty broom cupboard and try to snog her. She had pushed him away and walked out of the broom cupboard and literally walked into Draco. She began to apologize profusely telling him that Ron had snogged her and she promised that she had not kissed him back. Draco had then kissed her, and when they finally broke apart smiled and informed her that he felt the need to make sure it was his taste on her lips, not Ron's.

She woke up even more confused than she went to sleep. She checked her clock, 8:00, plenty of time.

She went to the kitchen for breakfast, trying to decipher any reasonable meaning fro her weird dreams. In the end, she decided to just forget it, she had much more pressing issues than weird dreams.

After eating, she showered and got dressed. She tried not to think too much as she chose her outfit, and wore a blouse that she normally would not wear as she considered it impractical and slightly too tight.

At 10 o'clock exactly, she heard a _Crack!_ that announced that Draco Malfoy had arrived.

_Here goes nothing _she thought, and went to meet him.

**A/N: And I leave you (hopefully) wanting more. Another shout out to my glorious editor, hopefully between the two of us, my writing will be mistake free!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - Spontaneous!

**A/N: Alright my lovely ****followers, I offer you this chapter as my gift. Sorry I've taken so long to update, I'm having some writer's block issues. Here's a little taste of what's to come. Yes, I know that's what you've secretly been pining for, to finally get to the M part of this fic hehehe.**

**Without further ado, Hermione's day of unthinking fun! Happy reading!**

Chapter 15 – Spontaneous!

"So, when I asked you this, tell me the first thing that comes to your mind." Draco told her, in a tone that led her to believe this was not optional.

"Ok"

"What do you want to do?"

"Truth or Dare" she replied quickly, shocking even herself.

"And what is the punishment if one backs out of a truth or dare?" Inquired Draco, looking amused at her choice.

"The other person gets to decide." She smiled evilly.

"Alright then 'Mione, I'll allow you to go first." He bowed graciously, gesturing for them to make their way to the living room. They had sat down on the couch, Draco sprawled out, and Hermione sitting cross-legged and sideways, looking at him.

"Truth or Dare?" she asked.

"Dare"

"I dare you to mess your hair up." She grinned at her ingenuity, and at the horrified look on Draco's face.

"Mess... Mess my hair up?" Draco narrowed her eyes at her. "Well, when you wonder how an innocent game of Truth or Dare turned into a malicious battle, you need look no further than a mirror."

"It was never going to be innocent, Draco." Hermione laughed. "Now, if you don't mess your hair up, I will."

"You'll regret this, Granger" he growled. He began mussing up his hair, until it was a complete mess. Hermione started giggling.

"You won't be giggling after I'm done with you." Draco threatened, though his voice was not menacing. "Your turn. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." She was not quite bold enough to pick dare after Draco's words.

"If you knew this game wasn't going to be innocent, why did you pick it?"

"I'm not supposed to think, remember?"

"Bullocks. You're using this as an excuse to something. I know you, you've planned this day out, but I'm onto you, Hermione Granger." Hermione laughed at his words.

"I think you're paranoid, Draco."

"We'll see. Do your worst."

"You sure you want to see my worst?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can handle anything you've got 'Mione." He whispered, with a hint of that husky element that made her go crazy.

"Alright, you asked for it. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth"

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Is that what you call your worst?"

"No, but I want to know, so answer the question."

"Which time?"

"First time."

"Because I wanted to I guess." He stated simply. "I haven't really put too much thought into it. It just happened really. I didn't know I even wanted to kiss you until I was kissing you. Just, something about seeing you with Ron, mixed with the heat of that argument..." he trailed off. She figured he was probably remembering the words she had said right before he had kissed her.

"I didn't mean it, you know." She whispered softly to him.

"I know" he smiled sweetly at her. "My turn, Truth or Dare?" She realized he was changing the subject, and was grateful for it.

"Dare" she stated boldly.

"Alright, when we go back to school, you must refer to me, and insist everyone else refer to me as his Greatness, for a week." He told her smugly.

"A week?" she exclaimed.

"Problem?" he asked, arching an eyebrow, as if he was daring her to challenge him.

"And if there was?" she challenged him, something she would not have normally done in this situation, but, as per instructed, she was trying her very best not to think.

"Well, I guess I would get to punish you, wouldn't I?" The way he said that sent a chill through Hermione's whole body. But it was not with a feeling of fear, it was a feeling of anticipation. Before she could talk herself into doing the sensible thing, she leaned closer to him.

"And what would my punishment be?" She whispered, staring at him hungrily.

"I can't tell you until you agree to the known dare or the unknown punishment. It isn't fun without risk." She noticed that he was looking at her with lust filled eyes. She leaned closer to him, testing how he reacted to their close proximity. She noticed that his breathing was becoming very unsteady, his eyes only focused on her lips. He said he wasn't going to tell her, but his actions had betrayed him. Whatever he had thought of before, she was sure had vanished.

"I can see you thinking Hermione." Draco panted. "You aren't supposed to be doing that."

"I'm not going to call you his Greatness for a week." She told him, it seemed that was all he needed. He pounced on her, engulfing her in a kiss filled with such passion, it made their previous kisses seem as though they had no fire at all. This flame consumed them both, it was so great Hermione felt there could actually be sparks flying from them. Any worries she had about the house burning down soon vanished as Draco bit her bottom lip.

She groaned at the great amount of pleasure in that little bit of pain. He deepened the kiss, the tips of their tongues occasionally meeting, but most of the action happening between their lips. He pushed her down so she was lying flat ot he couch, with him on top. He then twisted his right hand into her hair, his left hand slipping under her blouse. Where ever his skin touched hers left a tingling feeling, that grew into a steady buzz as his hand traveled up her stomach. By the time it had reached her rib cage, if was as if he was conducting electricity through her, though instead of the electricity hurting her, it made her feel an incredible amount of pleasure.

He stopped moving his hand right below her bra, stroking the skin there and fingering the fabric. She brought her hands from around his neck down to his chest, once again admiring his muscles. She let her hands travel down to his abs, fingering them through his shirt. _Merlin he has a nice body, _she thought to herself _as much as I don't like Quidditch, it's really done him wonders._ She let her hands trace his abs again, and she heard him groan, taking this as encouragement, she slipped her index finger slightly under the waistband of his trousers, remembering how much he had liked that before.

It was as if something he had been holding back had stirred. The kiss changed, now more aggressive. She felt the need within the kiss, but there was something else there, something more that just lust that she could not figure out. There was passion, need, longing, aggression, desire, and plenty of lust. What else could there be that she could not out her finger on? She pushed the thought from her mind. She was not supposed to be thinking today, and she planed on doing just that.

She felt Draco's other hand leave her hair and slip under her shirt as well, both hands now resting on her breasts. Gently, he began to massage them, and she let out a small moan. He broke the kiss off long enough to take her shirt off, and stare hungrily at her.

"I've been wanting to do that ever since I saw you in that shirt today." He growled, and kissed her again. Without her shirt she felt a slight chill, even though her body was filled with fire. He began to kiss her neck, laying a trail of open mouthed kisses all the way to her collarbone. She moaned with pleasure, all thoughts of the slight chill completely gone. As he bit the area right above her collarbone, it was as if her body had a mind of it's own. She arched her back, thrusting her hips into his. She heard him moan at this new contact, and felt him respond by grabbing her waist and pinning her to the couch.

"Draco.." she moaned as she felt his body so close to hers, his erection digging into her slightly. She tore off his shirt, needing the presence of his skin on hers. She stared at his toned chest, running her fingers along the muscles again until he engulfed her in another kiss. His hands were everywhere, cupping her cheeks, tangled in her hair, massaging her breasts, and tracing her stomach so lightly it made her shiver.

She lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, letting him get closer to her. She could feel how hard he was, rubbing against her. Thoughts of how good he would feel inside her raced through her mind, and she let out another moan at the thought. He pressed himself even closer to her, _Merlin I want him _she thought, never having felt this aroused in her life.

His hand ran down her stomach, caressing her skin. She felt him fiddling with her pants slightly, and suddenly his hand was sliding down more. Right before he reached her most intimate area, she broke off the kiss, pushing away from him slightly.

"No." Her voice was quite shaky, but determined. "No Draco, I'm not ready for that yet."

"That's ok 'Mione." He told her softly. "I shouldn't have tried, I'm sorry."

She kissed him tenderly, wondering what had just happened between the two of them. Why did they affect each other like this? Now they were actually talking about it, she had not run off this time. Something was happening between the two of them. This was more than snogging, it had to be. She did not believe Draco was just messing with her anymore, this was something else. What it was though, she had no idea.

"Truth or Dare?" She asked him, she was not supposed to be thinking today, so she needed to distract herself.

"Hmmmmm... I think I'll pick truth this time."

"What the hell is going on between us?" It was the question she had wanted answered for quite some time now, she needed to know.

"'Mione, I wish I knew, I'm probably as clueless as you are. However, I'll tell you what I do know." Draco looked at her, square in the eye. "I'm mad about you, 'Mione. There's something about you, I find I can't get you out of my mind. When you're close to me, the only thing I can think about is holding you, and kissing you. Honestly, you're the most beautiful witch I know, but you aren't just beautiful! You're smart, funny, witty, caring, brave, loyal, strong, and not to mention one hell of a snog." He winked at her.

"Why do you tell me this on the day I'm not allowed to think? This is serious thinking material." She furrowed her eyebrows, contemplating her dilemma.

"Well, you can think about it tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, probably the week after that too! But today, you are required to have unthinking fun!"

She glanced at the clock, it was 12:27.

"I want to eat ice cream for lunch." She told him. It was something she had always wanted to do, but she had never been able to justify it before.

He got up and extended his arm to her. She took it. He turned on his heel and they were in Diagon Alley, right outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Hermione smiled as Draco led her inside, and noticed some people were staring.

"Aren't you worried about being seen with me in public?"

"I could ask you the same question you know. I mean, a member of the Golden Trio being seen with the likes of me can't be very good for your reputation, can it?"

"Ah yes, but what if your father hears about this?"

"Well he can do whatever he bloody wants. Disown me, burn me off the family tree, put a bounty on my head, I don't care. I like you and I want the world to know about it. I want everyone to know that I am not my father." He finished with such resolve, she felt a surge of admiration for him.

"Well then, let's go ruin both our reputations." She smiled at him, and they sat down to order ice cream.

After they finished their ice cream, they wandered around Diagon Alley, simply enjoying each other's company, and ignoring all the weird looks they got. Hermione, as usual, spent a very long time in Flourish and Blots, it was probably her favourite store in Diagon Alley. She explained to Draco why she loved reading so much, how she not only loved the information educational books gave her, but how in fictional books, she would just lose herself in the book. He also told her that he was enjoying Sherlock Holmes, and how fascinated he was at how muggles coped without magic.

As they walked out of Flourish and Blots, Draco teasing her, saying she look longer looking at books than eating her ice cream, Hermione gasped. Draco scanned the room to where he was looking and stopped mid sentence. There, right in front of them, was Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother.

Mrs Malfoy's jaw dropped on seeing the two of them together. Her eyes kept looking from Hermione, to Draco, back to Hermione, then back to Draco. The tension in the air was so thick, Hermione thought she could probably cut it with a knife.

"Hello mother." Draco finally broke the silence.

"So this is why you're never home?" Asked a still shocked Narcissa Malfoy.

"Sometimes, most of the time I'm by myself."

"Are we really that bad?" Mrs Malfoy now looked saddened.

"Sometimes." Replied Draco.

"I'm sorry Draco." His mother looked at him, tears threatening to leave her eyes. "I'm glad that you aren't your father after all."

"Glad?" Hermione was shocked, somehow she had finally found her voice.

"Yes, Miss Granger, I'm glad. The war proved to me that there were much more important things than blood status, such as family. Unfortunately my husband did not come to the same realization. He is stuck in his ways, on a path leading straight to Azkaban."

"So you don't think I'm filth?"

"Not in the slightest Miss Granger." Mrs Malfoy laughed. "If you are what makes my son happy, then so be it. Merlin knows happiness is what the world needs right now."

"Does dad know this?" Draco interjected.

"Yes, why do you think we argue so much? He is furious that I have abandoned my prior beliefs and is worried that I will infect you with my new beliefs. It seems though, that you've figured it out by yourself." His mother smiled at him, and Draco looked over the moon. "Don't worry though, I won't bring it up unless you do, however, I have a feeling we won't be dealing with him as long as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't joking when I said if he didn't stop he would be going to Azkaban. You remember the warning we got Draco, the ministry has just about had it with your father."

"Can't you make him see sense?" There was an edge of panic in his voice. Hermione realized that however much Draco hated his father, he would never wish his to Azkaban, even without the dementors, it was still a horrible place.

"I really don't think so dear." said Mrs Malfoy sadly. "No more talk of all this sadness, come, let us have tea and talk about all the things your father has prevented us from talking about."

They followed her to a cozy little place, and sat down. Mrs Malfoy looked a lot different from the last time Hermione saw her. She no longer looked like she thought herself superior to everyone, and smiled a lot more. She was actually a very pleasant person. Hermione hoped that now home would not be so bad for Draco anymore, now he had an ally.

After a while, they bid her goodbye and set off on their different ways.

"The day's not over yet, what other mischief shall we get up to?" Draco looked at her mischievously.

**A/N: I would like to thank all my lovely followers, reviewers, and, of course, my wonderful editor. I've found that the Doc Uploader has been doing weird things with the some words, I'll try to go through all the chapters and sort the issues out. However, I'm only human, I make mistakes. If you spot any errors, feel free to let me know, I'm always happy for an opportunity to make my writing better :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


	16. Chapter 16 - Christmas

**A/N: Hi guys, I am very sorry about how long it's been since I've updated, but I've been having some seriously major writers block. Cross your fingers that it goes away for me!**

**Anywho, here is the final chapter from Hermione's POV, hopefully it wraps up any unanswered questions about what she's been feeling for the past few months. Enjoy!**

Chapter 16 - Christmas

It ended up that Hermione and Draco did not get up to much more mischief that day. They spent most of it just talking about everything and nothing. Hermione enjoyed spending time with Draco, conversation flowed easily, just like breathing. Really, once he had gotten over the whole 'all muggle-borns are filth' thing, he was really a great guy.

He had bid her goodnight at around 5 o'clock, saying he had promised to be home for dinner. She was sad to see him go, though she had a hard time accepting why. _I miss him_ she concluded, marvelling at how silly it was, but was it really that silly? She was used to seeing him everyday in lessons, and then after dinner. She enjoyed his presence, there was something calming about it, having someone who understood her. Maybe Harry could kind of understand her, he had gone through a lot too, but Draco had seen her pain, and gone through it himself. That night, they had been connected in something dreadful, yet it seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

The flow of the days continued with Draco writing to her constantly. He still hated how it was at home, but it was slightly better knowing he was not alone.

Soon enough, it was Christmas. Hermione had arranged to spend the actual Christmas with her family, and Boxing Day at The Burrow with the Weasleys, as they had really become like a second family to her. Harry would also be there, and she had not seen him for ages. She had also barely written to him, something she felt awful for. She was not sure she wanted to see Ron though. As much as they had been friends for ages, she still had not quite forgiven him. She understood that he was upset, but not writing to her and snogging other girls really was not the answer.

Christmas night, the night before she was going to The Burrow for a couple days, she had the weirdest dream yet. Her dreams had been odd for a while now. Though her nightmares were getting better, she found she often woke up confused rather than terrified in a cold sweat.

That night, she dreamed she was back at Hogwarts, just getting out of bed, but found she was under some sort of restraint. She looked down to find an arm draped around her, and realized with a shock she was naked. She looked over to see that the arm belonged to Draco, and her eyes widened with shock at what must have occurred. Then, the arm turned into a metal restraint, and she felt cuffs on her arms and legs too. She struggled and struggled until the metal restraints turned into a very confused Draco. He asked her why she was struggling and what was wrong. She however, could not speak. She was so confused at what had just happened, and the fact that Draco was completely naked as her struggling had thrown the sheets off him, that her vocal chords simply refused to work.

She woke up confused as always, trying to shake the image of a naked-Draco from her mind. She went downstairs to have breakfast, then showered, got dressed, and brushed her teeth like the good daughter of two dentists. When she had finished packing, it was 10:54, and she was planning on arriving at 11. She double checked she had remembered everything, and Apparated to The Burrow.

"Hermione!" She was greeted by the cries of . She wondered how many of the rest of the Weasley clan was even awake, as she remembered, most of the children did not like waking up before noon, even if it was for their mother's cooking.

"Hi ." Hermione greeted her with a smile. "Good Christmas?"

"Oh, it was wonderful! Most of the boys are still sleeping, we had the whole family over this time." Said happily, but Hermione could see the sadness in her eyes, and knew that the whole family had not been there, because of Fred.

"Oh that's wonderful. Do you want any help making lunch?"

"Oh no, dear. Don't you worry about me, I'm used to feeding this lot." Mrs Weasley smiled at her. "Now, why don't you go upstairs and put your stuff in Ginny's room? I'm sure she will be happy to see you."

As soon as Hermione walked through the door, Harry and Ginny pulled apart, looking very embarrassed.

"Hermione!" Ginny flung her arms around her friend, recovering quickly. Harry had the decency to continue to look awkward at the situation.

"Er... Hi Hermione. Sorry 'bout that." He mumbled. Hermione laughed at her friend's bashfulness.

"No use hiding in a corner Harry." She smiled. "Get your arse over here." Harry laughed and went over to join in the hug of two of his favourite women in the whole world.

"So, Hermione." Ginny began after they had broken apart. "What's the deal with Malfoy?" Hermione groaned. That was the very question she had been asking herself for a while, and she had been hoping for a bit more time of reflection on the subject before someone brought it up.

"You're going to have to be more specific, Gin. He's a very complicated person." She laughed.

"Well how about you start from the beginning?" Harry suggested.

"Alright, you two. Do you think Ron should be here for this?" She asked.

"Er... Ron's not really being the most open-minded about this. I'm sure he'll come around eventually, but right now he's being a bloody stubborn git."

"Well, he is Ronald Weasley." She laughed. "I guess I'll tell him later then. Sit yourselves down, I'll start from when you last saw me." Harry and Ginny sat themselves down on Ginny's bed, and Hermione sat down on the bed she would be occupying for the next few days.

"Well, as you two know, this year, I was made Head Girl, and upon arriving, I found out that Draco had been made Head Boy. Because of this, we had to share the same quarters. The first night, McGonagall let us eat in our common room, so we could have a little peace. As we were eating Draco apologized to me! It was so bizarre, the great Draco Malfoy looking so sad about every bad thing he had ever done, and just outright apologizing. After that, we managed a fairly good routine, we weren't friends or anything, but we weren't hostile either. It was strange, but nice, just having someone to be pleasant with who wasn't pushing for anything more. It changed when you sent me that letter though, Harry.

I got your letter at lunch, and went back to the common room to read it. I, well, I had a bit of a breakdown, I knew that things were bad with Ron, but I wasn't sure how bad there were until that point. I just couldn't take it anymore, with all the stress of school, struggling with what happened in the war, it was like the final straw. I just, I really thought it was going to work between us, then we had that horrid fight, I just wished I could take back everything I had said, but at the same time, I had to say them. I just felt so confused and awful about the whole thing. Anyway, I was crying in the common room, and Draco walked in and asked to read your letter. I'm not sure why, but I let him.

After he was done reading the letter, I had regained most of my composure, and so I apologized for making him see that, and he did the weirdest thing. He acted like he actually cared, and told me I couldn't hold everything in. At the time, I was still unstable, so I got mad at him, and we got into a bit of a row, but looking back, he was actually concerned with my welfare. At the time, I couldn't see it though, because I was convinced he still hated me, and I just had another complete meltdown and took all my anger and frustration out on him. After saying a fair few things I really wasn't proud of, I did what I do best, I just completely ignored him.

It was like that for the next few weeks, I just ignored him, and honestly, I felt sad in doing so. My mood got worse, I was barely keeping up with my assignments, I could barely sleep. Finally, after lunch one day, I decided I needed to get some rest, so I went to my dorm for a nap. I had a rather bad nightmare, and I woke up to find Draco Malfoy holding me. I completely freaked out, and I sort of attacked him. I was so busy being in a rage that I didn't stop to think about why he would be in my bed, and well, he let his anger fly too, told me everything he had been holding back basically since term started.

He told me how much I had hurt him when I assumed that he still had his old beliefs and thought all muggle-borns were scum, and all that he had gone through during and after the war. In a strange way, we understood what the other had been through, if that makes any sense. After he just completely blew up at me, I started crying again, and instead of just walking away, he held me. We just stood their in each other's arms for the longest time, and I realized that he was a lot more like me than I had ever realized before, or he is now at least. For the first time, I stopped to think how difficult the war must have been for him." She drifted off for a moment, thinking about what he had said to her that night yet again. She had left out the part about her having nightmares every night, and as much as she felt bad for not telling Harry and Ginny, she felt it would just worry them.

"So after that, we were on good terms again, back to the steady routine we had had before, and then, well, Ron showed up. Draco had asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him, and so we were walking towards the village, just enjoying each others company, and then he told me I was beautiful." She blushed heavily, remembering the incident, before quickly moving on with her story. "Ron then decided to show up, and the two of them got into a bit of a spat, with Ron threatening Draco, and then I took Draco's side – don't look at me like that, Ron started it and Draco was mad at him because he had made me upset – and then Ron apologized, and I hugged him, and when I looked around again, I saw Draco walking away.

I agreed to go to the Three Broomsticks with Ron, and he seemed to be genuinely sorry for what happened between us, and I told him while I would forgive him, we could not go back to the way we were before. Too much had happened, and if after one bad fight, he would just walk away, I didn't know if I could ever trust him not to do it again. He took it rather well, and we just wandered around Hogsmeade as friends. We parted ways later and I went back to the common room in hopes to find Draco to apologize since I had told him I would spend the day with him.

As soon as I saw him, I felt really bad, especially because he looked so hurt. I started to apologize and he got all mad at me, and we got into a terrible row. For some reason, he was pissed off about me having a date with Ron, and when I didn't correct him and tell him it wasn't actually a date, he just got more upset. He got mad at me for forgiving Ron, then somehow I got mad about how I had been persecuted in the war, then I told him that he had never questions the beliefs that he was brought up by and he didn't deserve pity, at which point he became more infuriated as he had already made it clear he had questioned his previous beliefs, and finally I told him that I hated him. That I would always hate him for what he had done and nothing he could do would change that.

Then, well, he kissed me. It was completely unexpected, and for some reason, I didn't break the kiss. It was just so full of passion, it consumed me. Honestly, I've never been kissed like that before, not that I have a lot of experience with kissing, but still, I'm quite certain it wasn't just an everyday kiss, it was incredible. I never thought I would say that, that Draco Malfoy kissed me and I actually enjoyed it, but he did, and Merlin I enjoyed it. Funnily enough, it was actually Pig who broke us out of of trance and I practically ran away from him, scared out of my mind at what had just happened. I hadn't a clue if he was just messing with me or if it actually meant something.

The next day, McGonagall dropped in, and told us we needed to work on House Unity, so I decided I couldn't very well go ignoring him again, but that didn't mean I needed to talk about the kiss either. So we fell back into a bit of a routine again, and then, one night after dinner, I walked in to our common room to find him writing a letter, and a bag of Hagrid's rock cakes beside him. It was probably one of the most confusing scenes I had ever walked in on, especially considering the letter he was writing was to you, Harry.

After much prompting on my part, he told me that he had gone to visit Hagrid, to apologize for everything he had done to him. They had had tea, and Hagrid had ended up giving him some rock cakes for a snack later. He then told me he was writing a letter to you, and considering writing a letter to all the Weasleys. Actually, if you still have the letters, I would quite like to read them, I went to bed before he had finished them." At this, Harry nodded, then urged her to continue her tale.

"Then, the day we were leaving for Christmas, he kissed me again. I was being my usual stubborn self and I wouldn't admit that I enjoyed kissing him, and so he kissed me again to prove me wrong. Honestly I don't know how he brings these feelings out of me, I just melt whenever he gets close, it's rather annoying when I'm trying to be clever than then he gets close and I can hardly think. Then, he did another puzzling thing. For all of his retorts, he not only told me I was worth more than any other girl, but when he asked me how I felt, instead of pushing a response out of me, he just told me to think about it. It's basically all I've been thinking about since."

She finished her tale there, not wanting to tell Harry or Ginny what had happened over the holidays. She did not want them knowing she had seen Draco more over the holidays then she had seen them. As much as they were more understanding than Ron, she still did not want to push her luck.

They sat in silence for a little while, Harry and Ginny obviously needed some time to digest the information she had just told them.

"Who would have though, Hermione and Draco?" Ginny was the first one to break the silence.

"We aren't an item yet, Ginny." Hermione replied.

"Well, from what I've heard, Draco isn't a prat anymore, which means you like him, plus you like snogging him. And from what you've said, it seems he likes you, and likes snogging you, so I don't really see what there's left to think about."

"Ginny, it's not that simple!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Why, because it's Draco?" Harry spoke this time. "Look Hermione, I'm not ruling out what he did in the past, but he's really changed. If you were speaking the truth about what you said to Ron, then you've already walked away from him. If Draco is going through this much trouble to make amends, I would say give him a chance. Who knows, he might be just what you need." Harry smiled at her.

Hermione looked at her two friends, shocked. She had expected outrage at Draco daring to kiss her, but here they were, telling her to go ahead and be his girlfriend!

"Can I read his letter now?" Harry got up and walked out of the room, returning a few minutes later with two letters.

"I got you the one he wrote to the Weasleys too."

As Hermione read the two letters, she felt a wave of pride and affection for Draco fill her. He had admitted his wrong doings, something that could not have been easy. As she read the words he had written, she made up her mind. He had changed, and she would give him a chance.

**A/N: Any feedback/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Even if I don't use them, they might seriously help me beat the bitch known as writer's block.**

**Also, as a side note, the story has hit 30k words! Yay!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,**

**Shan :)**


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